Paladin 4: Chapter 56

With newfound resolve and new forces added to the ranks of the Protectors beneath him, Darren set his sights on the next layers of the Heavens. He had only begun destroying Kalaziel’s plans. Until the man faced him in person, Darren would continue to trample Kalaziel’s machinations underfoot.

Ashe and Asuriel served as his constant companions and assistants as he arrived ahead of the rest of his forces. The Second Layer was more heavily forested than the First Layer, but also more settled. It lacked the wildness the first layer had, though neither were anything akin to the feral wilderness that covered most of the layers of the Seven Hells. The seraphim had long since gained total mastery of the heavens. Here, wilderness only grew where the seraphim allowed it to.

Darren hadn’t spent much time here, but Ashe and Asuriel were both former denizens of the Heavens. More than that, they had long since gotten into contact with sympathetic forces here in the Heavens who were just as opposed to Kalaziel’s brutal takeover and the Order of the Rod’s occupation as they were.

“Where do we go?” Darren asked.

“The nearest city is in that direction!” Asuriel pointed. “But I got a warning that there are three Fifth Order members of the Order of the Rod that way.

Darren chuckled. It would take a lot more than three such people to stop him. The Order of the Rod ought to know that by now.

Clearing out the Second Layer worked much like the First. Darren cleansed each city of the Order of the Rod’s influence personally. By the time he was done, Sasha and Callum were coming to join him with the vanguard of their own forces. They cleaned up the scraps that escaped Darren’s attention, leaving him free to work with the Dungeon Queen to lay claim to the area.

The third layer was a sprawling, mountainous area. It reminded him much of the landscape of the Blackwind Empire, and not for the first time he wondered where the Seven Heavens and the Seven Hells came from. He’d been to those libraries the heavens collected for their mortal vassals. He learned that they’d been constructed by mortal hands before the seraphim lifted them up.

Perhaps portions of the Sacred Seas had been lifted up similarly. He could see the seraphim and demons each taking their piece of the mortal world and hiding them away in their hidden pocket dimensions at the end of the grand conflict the old souls like Laura spoke of in such sad tones.

Darren had initially thought things might get tougher as they went higher, much like his adventures conquering the Seven Hells had gone. But the Heavens were built differently, as were the seraphim who called them home. The seraphim were evenly distributed throughout the Seven Heavens, regardless of layer. There was a slight tendency for those of greater power to reside higher up where the Divine Aura was thicker. Still, by and large, one’s layer of residence had more to do with the job and social stats than it did with personal power.

As a result, most members of the Order of the Rod they encountered were of roughly the same power. Darren had been prepared for Prime Saints since Darren knew Kalaziel had a few of those in his pocket. But if any were willing to fight for him, they weren’t being used to holding territory here.

With each victory, Darren’s forces grew in number and strength. The liberated seraphim eagerly swelled the ranks of the newly reformed Protectors. Those with combat experience directly added to Darren’s forces, while those without served a more supporting role. Word spread far and wide as Darren and his allies shared the truth of what was happening. Public sentiment on the conquered layers was beginning to turn against Kalaziel.

Yet, as they continued their ascent, whispers of the impending confrontation grew. Everyone knew the true confrontation was coming closer. Sooner or later, Kalaziel would show himself. And when he did, Darren’s ability to fight him would determine their victory or defeat.

The fourth layer was the first time Darren heard whispers of Horon. The Prime Saint of Justice had been driven into hiding, and the Fifth Layer was hardly big enough to wage a guerilla war. However, Horon certainly had allies and forces there.

While spearheading the attack on the Order of the Rod forces there, Darren stumbled across a powerful fight between familiar faces.

He’d witnessed the Order of the Rod fighting locals before. Usually, they had a former Protector who refused to yield at the sight of injustice on the ropes. Occasionally, there would be more than one at once. The largest battle he’d seen had been three Protectors fighting against six members of the Order of the Rod. Every fighter had been at the Fifth Order. It outnumbered and overwhelmed the Protectors were losing badly until Darren arrived and turned the tide in their favor.

This battle was like that one, only far more so. As he watched, a mighty sword swing cleaved through trees and stones like they weren’t even there. The wielders of such weapons were more powerful than the Fourth Layer could contain, and the damage their battle did to their surroundings showed as much.

As Darren approached the site of the intense battle, he realized the Protectors fighting back this time were far more powerful than usual. But so were the members of the Order of the Rod.

Now that he was looking closer, he realized he had recognized the leaders of both groups. On one side was Captain Gaviel, the leader of the Protectors of Calabor. Darren had last left him at Horon’s side, and his presence here suggested the Prime Saint of Honor was close.

On the side of the Order of the Rod stood Commander Thorn. This was the seraph who’d caused so much trouble for Darren in Salsroth, and again in the Fifth Layer of the Heavens prior to his last battle with Kalaziel.

At the moment, the two of them were engaged in a second battle to the death, and from the looks of things, the Order of the Rod had the upper hand.

Sensing the urgency of the situation, Darren knew he had to intervene. Asuriel and Ashe trailed behind him as he hurried toward the conflict. Captain Gaviel was holding for the moment, but his subordinates were running out of Divine Aura and were on their last legs.

Melancholy and Inevitability flashed in Darren’s hands, and the first member of the Order of the Rod was cleaved in half before he even knew what had happened. Then, he targeted another before they noticed him, eyes locking on one who was about to deal the final blow on one of Gaviel’s allies.

“Fetters of Fate.” Darren pointed.

The man was instantly bound in place, allowing the Protector to roll to safety. Meanwhile, glowing chains beyond the sight of mortal men wrapped around his assailant. They faded into existence as though seeping down from a higher plane. Like slithering serpents, they wrapped around his arms and legs until all he could do was struggle to get free. The sword in his hands tumbled from his grip.

The chains extended onward and outward, wrapping around the wrist of the Protector who’d been slain. That Protector climbed to her feet, catching her assailant’s sword as it fell from his limp grasp. Her experience and training pushed her to take full advantage of this sudden fortunes change. An instant later, the Order of the Rod seraph’s head was rolling across the ground, spilling golden blood behind it. A look of surprised shock covered his face.

Another Order of the Rod member lunged forward, sword glowing with ruby light. Just moments ago, the battle had been two against one in his favor. Still, now Darren had arrived and the other member of the Order of the Rod battling this woman of the Protectors was dead. The tables had suddenly switched, and he didn’t even have time to switch from offensive skills to defensive ones before he was skewered twice over, once by the Protector and twice by Darren.

The armored woman cast a surprised and thankful glance in Darren’s direction. From the look in her eyes, she knew how close to death she’d just come, and she knew that she owed Darren her life. But in a battle like this, when the fates of her friends and allies hung in the balance, she couldn’t spare the moment to thank her savior. Instead, she rushed off to aid the others.

“My love!” the woman yelled, rushing toward one of the other Protectors. She charged forward with the reckless fury one only had for their closest companions.

The two other Protectors were desperately fighting off two enemies each. Both were heavily wounded and giving ground. While the woman rushed into even the odds in one fight, Darren moved to put an end to the other.

He used Manifest Will, and his energy formed into blades as sharp as razors shooting out in all directions. Both the Fifth Order members of the Order of the Rod turned. One raised the shield strapped to his arm, and the other activated an energy barrier. Both were effective defenses against the rain of tiny blades, but Darren had only been hoping to create a distraction.

He charged in a moment later. The wind stopped blowing, and the leaves stopped rustling as he plundered their kinetic energy and threw it all into his charge. Finally, he hit with the force of a battering ram, shattering his physical and magical shield with his shoulder.

The two Paladins of the Order of the Rod were sent flying in opposite directions. He was on top of one of them before they could climb to their feet. Inevitability took off the top of his helmet, and then Darren was gone and on top of the other foe.

That one was nearly ready to finish off the bleeding Protector Darren had just rushed in to defend. The Protector was a big man, but he seemed fresher faced than most Fifth Order’s Darren had encountered, and he’d taken a lot of heavy blows over the past few minutes. By now, he was staggering where he stood. Though Darren had driven his assailants off, the seraph was so battered and winded he sagged to his knees the moment he was safe, completely unaware of the magical missile heading his way. Thanks to his Oracle Sight, Darren spotted it in advance, and he activated Manifest Will to form a barrier to save the battered Protector.

A moment later he’d crossed the distance and dealt with that Protector, leaving only the two lovers locked in a fight and Gaiman himself.

Darren tossed the battered protector a Fountain of Youth Water vial from his Realmvault. “Drink this.”

The man grasped the vial with shaking hands, golden blood seeping from the gaps in his armor. His eyes had a hazy and distant look to them. In a human, Darren would have guessed he had a bad concussion. But, for a seraph, he must have taken a blow that disrupted the Divine Aura flowing through him.

With him joining the fight by the sides of the two lovers, Gaimon was the one most needed help. He and Commander Thorn were both seraphim as strong as the Fifth Order came, and either was a match for three of their peers. But just like before, Commander Thorn had new tricks that let him hold an edge over Captain Gaviel.

This time, instead of a legendary sword, Commander Thorn was wielding an entire arsenal of lesser items of the mythic rank. Darren took a look at them one at a time with Absolute Analysis.

Absolute Analysis: Item Analysis

The Sanctified Aegis (Mythic)

• This ancient shield has been adorned with intricate carvings of the eternal struggle between order and chaos. These carvings depict ancient battles that predate the arrival of humans, but the results can still be felt today. The Aegis has the power to absorb and redirect all energy-based attacks.

Greathelm of the Judicator (Mythic)

• This ornate and imposing helmet is forged from an indestructible alloy that grants its users bolstered reserves of Divine Aura and enhanced perception, allowing them to sense danger before those dangers present themselves. It also protects the wielder’s head.

Hammer of the Celestial (Mythic)

• This mighty warhammer was recovered from the body of a long-dead being of order known only as the fallen celestial. This warhammer was one of his armaments. It can manipulate gravity to create localized shockwaves and even allow its users to fly by throwing themselves upward if they can not fly by other means. It can increase its weight ten thousand fold, increasing the momentum of each swing accordingly.

While none of the items gave off the overwhelming power of Inevitability, the three mythic items Commander Thorn had a quality from their sheer number. As recently as a few months ago, any such weapon would have been a tremendous boon to Darren, and here Commander Thorn had three of them.

“You!” Commander Thorn turned to face Darren, drawing Gaviel’s attention as well. “You’re still alive?”

“Kalaziel could not defeat me. So you stand no chance,” Darren replied.

Commander Thorn spat. “Likely story. I have three mythic weapons, and soon I’ll have Inevitability back!”

“I’ll hold him off. Help the others!” Gaviel shouted even as he took a devastating blow to the chest from the Hammer of the Celestial. Gaviel’s armor caved in, dented in the center in a way that most certainly dealt a heavy wound to the chest of the one beneath it.

“I already did,” Darren replied. The battle between the Order of the Rod and the Protectors had turned decisively in the Protector’s favor. Now all that was left was to save Gaviel himself.

He activated One With the Universe, drawing power from his surroundings. Commander Thorn raised The Sanctified Aegis, ready to block and no doubt retaliate with it one quick reply. But Darren was ready.

Commander Thorn raised his Hammer of the Celestial in a crude feint. He was clearly more used to a sword than a hammer because he failed to bring the head around quick enough to matter. The resulting opening lasted no longer than the blink of an eye, but that was all the time Darren needed to strike.

He wove between shield and hammer with Melancholy’s tip. Commander Thorn’s eyes widened as Darren found the tiniest gap where the armor plates along his arm met the armor plates on his shoulder. The sword dug deep, striking flesh and cutting through it like a damp cloth.

“Argh!” Commander Thorn screamed in pain as his hammer arm hung limp. The mythic weapon he’d been grasping tumbled from his limp fingers, which were no longer capable of bearing any weight. He glared at Darren, and the hatred in his eyes was swiftly being replaced by fear.

Darren caught the hammer on tendrils, remade now that his skill had improved once again. Instead of a soft golden glow, they were solid and real fingers that shimmered in the light like rainbow-colored glass. They wrapped around the falling hammer and pulled it to his side.

“Not bad,” Darren said, examining his new toy. He flashed Commander Thorn a smile. “You bring nice gifts.”

“You...” Commander Thorn growled. He hefted his shield and glared at Darren through his visor. Then he charged.

Darren met the charge, shield against two swords. Like the Clockwork Construct he’d fought, this shield reflected his force back at him. But One With the Universe allowed him to store and use kinetic energy from his surroundings. This was not a competition he would lose.

Commander Thorn pressed against him, but Darren pushed back. Commander Thorn’s eyes widened when he realized his shield would not be enough to win the fight. Darren watched him come to a decision. He struggled with his mostly limp arm but eventually swung it around and slapped his palm against the gem in the center of his shield.

Darren ducked just in time. The moment his fingers struck the shield, the mythic-ranked defensive item exploded. Shrapnel and Divine Aura flew in all directions. All the accumulated power in the item’s construction and what it had been charged with in Commander Thorn’s fight had flooded it with so much Divine Aura that the energy practically took on a solid presence, something Darren had only ever seen from the Demonic Aura Laura was collecting in the deepest depths of the Seven Hells.

The explosion was deafening and blinding, but Darren’s keen instincts and enhanced senses kept him safe. The shockwave knocked him back, but he stayed on his feet. Captain Gaviel was less lucky and toppled backward. He was bleeding just as much as the other Protector was, but Gaviel had the keen battle instincts to stay on his feet despite his wounds.

Commander Thorn’s broken armor was strewn about the battlefield. The man himself was barely recognizable. The shrapnel from destroying his mythic shield had done far more damage to himself than Darren.

His breathing was heavy and labored, and his eyes were filled with the desperation of someone who knew they had lost. Then, like a skittish animal, he turned tail and fled.

He unleashed both pairs of wings, unveiling the two to fly at full speed. Finally, Darren unveiled all three sets of his own wings. He caught up with the Commander before he even realized what was happening.

Commander Thorn’s eyes widened so much it seemed they might fall right out of his head. Instead, Darren caught him by the tattered remnants of his armor and threw him with full force into the ground. His landing created a crater where he struck, sending dust and debris flying in all directions.

“It’s over,” Darren said.

“Y-you... have three sets of wings?” Commander Thorn’s eyes stared at the shining silver feathers on Darren’s back. “You were a Prime Saint this whole time?” All the energy seemed to seep from Commander Thorn’s body. “No wonder I lost. Seven Hells, I held on against a Prime Saint.”

A smile crept up the corner of Commander Thorn’s cheeks, pleased at last.

Under any other circumstances, Darren would have corrected the seraph. He’d only been at the Fifth Order when they fought last. But Darren believed that everyone, man or seraph, had the right to die at peace with themselves. He let Commander Thorn bask in his mistaken belief in what time he had left.

Darren had no intention of letting Commander Thorn get away a second time. This rat in service to Kalaziel had escaped justice by Darren’s hand twice already, and twice was two times too many.

Gaviel let out a few long, panting gasps. “Finish him while you have the chance. I’d do it myself, but I don’t have the strength left.”

“Wait!” Commander Thorn held a bruised and battered gauntlet, as he shook off his blissful reverie. “I’ll change sides! I’ve seen the light! With power like yours, you could challenge him for the Heavenly Throne! You could be the next Lord of Light instead of him!”

Darren shook his head. “Maybe. But it will not be with a traitor at my side.”

Darren had no interest in the service of someone who changed sides as easily as Commander Thorn would. If the seraph would turn on Kalaziel so easily, many years hence, he would probably do the same against Darren.

Darren used Manifest Will to turn his Divine Aura into pure fire. IN Commander Thorn’s weakened state, he didn’t have the strength to resist it. His body turned to ashes in an instant under the mystical flame, and those ashes blew away on a gust of wind.

“He’s finally dead...” Captain Gaviel whispered, shaking his head in wonder. “For a while there, I thought he was going to be the end of me.” Then he turned his gaze to Darren. “But even more surprising is the fact that you’re alive! We all thought you’d made the final sacrifice. Horon even held a toast in your honor.”

Darren glanced at the other Protectors. The three Darren had saved and finished their two remaining adversaries independently. They were some of the best fighters the Protectors offered to have held off so long against twice their number. He wouldn’t have been surprised to learn that these were Horon’s elite.

“I have many tricks,” Darren replied. “They have helped me stay alive this long.” He reached into his Realmvault and passed Gaimon a vial of his Fountain of Youth Water. The seraph was teetering on the verge of life and death.

When he finally finished drinking, Gaviel was looking much better. Color had returned to his cheeks, and he was no longer bleeding from every crack in his armor. “That hit the spot. Thank you, Darren. And not just for the potion. Come.” Gaviel forced himself to his feet. “After what you did before and what you’ve just done now, Horon will be furious if we didn’t offer you our shelter and aid. So let me take you to the secret headquarters of our little rebellion.”

<Note>

Happy April 1st! I wish I had the bandwidth to do an April Fools joke chapter again. I missed last year's too, but sadly I have serious chapters to write. Maybe next year.

I'm on a bit of a crunch to get the new Spellheart chapter written for tomorrow. Normally I have at least a little something started, but I've been kinda focused on finishing Paladin 4 this week and forgot about my brother's birthday today, which will take up some time.

If I have a brain fart and give up I might have to do some art or a poll or something. I'm still hoping I can get the next chapter done though. I think it's important to keep the series in mind, since it takes a while to get back into the characters and the setting if I go too long without thinking about them.