Chapter 282: Falling Books
I contain my gaze upon Lennon Hull as the man strides toward the library, now willing to broker peace with us. Yet, even as we all stare at him, he seems to not care and continues his leisurely pace while raucous sounds rumble through the air. The most significant difference I've noticed between the fights between Angels and mortals is the noise.
They are way, way, way louder. Of course, they are much more decisive and powerful, but the noise is always so deafening.
Flicking my focus on Johnny, I find him unholstering his Colt and following Lennon from behind just as calmly. I don't think he wants to get ahead of the man. Makes sense. He moved so fast to strike Johnny earlier that my whole body still feels the trembles from the impact. And that was with literally everything I could do to strengthen myself.
I don't know if Johnny could have reacted fast enough to stop the blow, but he might have had time before he died to Glitch himself out of danger. The outcome is unclear, but I hope I never have to see the end of a duel between them.
And so, our group of eleven follows Lennon to Eli Weiss' library, seeking the secrets within and killing the Nahullo within before they can take what we need. Gradually, we increase in pace as Lennon, the human monster, also does. But right as we reach the bent, slashed, and ruined gates of the grand building before us, ornately decorated with marble, a din of distant gunfire fills the air.
Johnny immediately pauses, which doesn't affect Lennon at all as he bursts into the broken hole that now replaces the door of the library. But the woman does halt her steps, shifting to face us. I eye her warily, and she stares right back at me as Johnny speaks through Abraham, the gunshots soon becoming unmistakable as they increase in volume.
"Tomas, Skyswain, Primrose, and Silas. Go back now. Things are attacking the train, and Abraham senses hidden minds along the buildings now. It could be Damned, Roots, or Motherbound. Either way, you four need to head back. Millie, the Conductor, and the remaining Majors are insufficient to hold the line and protect the Unsigiled. We'll take care of this. Hopefully, Lennon tires himself out killing all these Angels and leaves us alone."
The moment Johnny finishes talking, a smile draws itself onto the woman's face. She sputters a shocking array of words before entering the library's foray.
"There are Motherbound around. I sense a few hundred by your train. A Manipulator must be close. I'll introduce myself as you all are kind folk based on your mental communication. I'm Kwakiteh, currently being taught how to wield a blade by Lennon whenever he isn't on his wing-clipping crusade. Now, let's go join the madman."
She can hear us!? My thought is repeated through Abraham's Allude by the pale man himself as a feminine chuckle is all we hear before she enters the darkness of the building. Once she does, Tomas speaks aloud.
"I... I think I recognize her, Johnny. She might be Ed's inheritor. Be careful, though, because, even if I'm right, it by no means she is an ally. It does answer the question where Demonsbane is, based on the weapon on her hip. It looks different than Eli's, probably obscured somehow, but it gives me a similar feeling. Anyway, I'll head for the train. You should be able to handle it; just watch out for her eye if she gets antagonistic. She's like Wyatt. Only her resistance comes from her blood, not her willpower."
Tomas lectures Johnny with fast-paced words before wrapping an arm around Silas and bolting back into the street the way we came, shouting for Primrose and Skyswain.
"Quickly! Follow me, you two!"
And they do, the human woman turning to a cloud of barreling gas while the Bado woman takes flight into the air with a burst of lightning around her. They both hurtle through the streets behind Tomas and the screaming Silas.
"I did not agree to this! Let me down!"
"No."
The last thing I hear from the quartet is Tomas' strict tone before they twist around a corner, leaving them out of earshot and eyesight. Once they're wholly gone, Johnny places his foot upon a broken slab of marble that leads up to the library, glancing at the remaining six he now leads. I stand straighter as I stare behind him, ensuring nothing strikes from the depths of the library.
Bangs, rumbles, clashing steel, and rhythmic twangs of bows echo from the inside as Johnny speaks over the noise.
"Abraham, don't worry about her seeing through Allude. Continue. One person hearing what we say is better than the whole battlefield. Now. Everyone prepare. Get your Ether roiling."
His attention starts at Blake, the closest to him.
"Blake, raise a few dead."
Then he shifts to the duo of blaze and brain.
"Bonfire, ignite, and Abraham, three Nightmares before we even enter."
Next, he focuses on Earl, the weakest of us all, with care.
"Earl, stay at the rear with your Coil but feel free to help where you can."
Finally, he twists to Virgil and me, addressing us together.
"Virgil, use your own discretion. I trust your judgment in battle. And, Wyatt, should that woman turn on us, you have to deal with her. The best way to combat a Wendigo is with another. Though, she may very well have Demonsbane, so be very careful. Use what Marshall taught you."
As he concludes speaking to me, I realize what Tomas meant by she's similar to me. She has an artifact embedded into her, too. And her's must be hidden behind that blindfold. Is she a Hollow? How else could she have one? All that I've ever heard is how rare sustaining an artifact is. I'm the only one I've ever heard of capable of doing it for longer than just a few days.
Is this my opportunity to learn the next step with the Bloody Palm? I can't help but smile as the Bloody Palm opens and closes with force under my command. I nod my head to Johnny in comprehension, and the man takes it before pivoting back to the library.
Noises have never once stopped from the innards of the building, like the grumbling of the most gluttonous demon. Biting my lip in anticipation as I fill my body and extremities with Ether again with Breakneck and Arbalest, I pursue Johnny inside. The marble under my feet vanishes with my alacrity, and I soon leave the outside and step inside.
Darkness covers my head and wipes away the midday sun's heat as I step into the library, and my senses are overwhelmed by the sight and sounds of a colossal conflict unfolding within its grand walls that reach dozens of feet tall. The air crackles with the energy of Ether and steel, filling the space with a tension that vibrates through my very bones. I can feel the force of every impact as it echoes from the walls and many rows of books that must contain tens of thousands of volumes and innumerable pages.
To my left, a menacing Mannequin, one similar in design to those born of the Pygmies, stands as it seems to analyze our entry. Yet, I know it is not Pygmy-made, for upon its forehead, unadorned with hair, is a number and stamp. ICARUS2 lies upon its mechanical skull as its metallic joints clack with every movement. Its limbs whirl and strike with deadly force as a Councilmember of the Nahullo charges it, leaving a trail of destruction in their wake. Beside it, a shadowy figure, seemingly born from the ink on the pages, emerges and strikes at the Nahullo. Yet, before their shadows can pounce, the twang of an arrow yields substance. I can barely catch a glimpse of the shadow as a barricade of sand weakens the arrow before he explodes into a shadowy smoke.
That leaves the Nahullo and Mannequin to strike at each other with incredible speeds as all the enemies inside the library, barring Kwakiteh and including ICARUS2, glow with magenta chains. Each blow from each of them knocks tomes off distant shelves and dents their armor or forms. Yet, as they battle, more Mannequins fall from the ceiling, though these are all green in Sigil, so only 4th Sigileds. With the help of kin, ICARUS2 pushes back the Councilmember.
Facing them, on the other side of the library, stand three formidable figures, each with their distinct prowess, which is soon joined by a fourth as the Nahullo is sent tumbling in retreat, joining his fellow Councilmember. The High Table's two members momentarily pause their onslaught as they notice our emergence.
The first armored figure wields a massive great blade, its sheer weight and size allowing it to cleave through enemies with thunderous strikes. He stares beyond my shoulder, laying the focus of his visor onto the pale man directly behind me, Abraham. The second figure holds an elegant longbow, over eight feet in height, drawn with deadly precision. Abraham was right. Mislo is here.
On the opposing side, the other group presents a bizarre sight as they, too, halt their clash. A man, seemingly more beast than human, moves with a wild force before calming down. Lennon Hull's ruined and crooked blade radiates malevolence, and the Ether within his body roars defiantly before dissipating entirely. Beside him stands a familiar woman, her grace and poise starkly contrasting to her partner's primal nature. Kwakiteh wields an opulent blade, intricately adorned and seemingly too beautiful to be used for battle. Though, the blood upon the edge tells a different story. The Bloody Palm groans with a fit of violent anger merely at the sight of the blade. Using my other hand, I have to hold it still.
Something is seriously not right with that Claymore.
All focus falls upon my group as three armored figures stand around Abraham, a dozen Undead soldiers near Blake as she communicates softly with them, and a furious blaze ignites from Bonfire as his whole body turns to flame. Meanwhile, Virgil is the most inconspicuous of us all as he fades from focus, similar to that shadowy figure who must be Clarence Love.
My heart races, torn between the urge to join the fray and the instinct to find a way out of this chaotic conflict among books and into the laboratory below. But in this muddled stillness and temporary peace, Clarence Love is the first to speak. His voice comes from all the shadows around as if he is within each of them.
"We are human. There is no need for conflict. Let's focus on the Nahullo together before they take advantage of our quarreling."
I shift my focus to Johnny as the gunslinger ponders for a moment before doing what I would do. He agrees outwardly but says something differently inwardly.
"Of course. We can discuss our issues afterward, Mr. Love."
"Wyatt, Bonfire, Abraham, Earl, and Virgil. Skip by this battle and search for the entrance to the lab. Bonfire and Wyatt are on defending duty. Abraham, you scour with your Nightmares, and Virgil, you with your tendrils. Earl, make sure no one touches anything that will kill them. Blake, try and get enough Undead to hold off some of those Mannequins if need be. We're going to focus on Mislo and... who is the second one, Abraham?"
Johnny defaults to Abraham for information on the Councilmembers, seeing as he used to live alongside them. And as per usual, Abraham does not fail. He speaks through his Allude with hardly concealed hate.
"That's Sequester. He's the Warmaster-in-training. Apparently, my father, the Viceray, and the Warmaster think he's good enough to reach the 9th Sigil eventually. Why he's here, though? I have no idea."
Johnny nods before pointing forward as his knees bend, the man drawing both his ghostly blade from Blake and his Fate Sealer. As he does so, I rotate the Ether through my body, repairing my Ironbound that was broken from Lennon and fixing up my Arbalests.
"Okay. You five, try and make it look like you're joining the battle but twist off on the first chance you get. On three."
"One."
On one, the clash between Lennon and Kwakiteh against Sequester and Mislo reignites, as Lennon charges the two with a bang that shatters floorboards beneath him and bits of the ceiling. Kwakiteh shuffles around the edge of the battlefield, careful and precise as she picks and chooses her opportunities to strike, not nearly as resilient as Lennon.
"Two."
On two, Johnny aims at Mislo, firing a bullet that deflects one of her arrows from piercing toward a shadowy form likely to be Clarence. Afterward, the shadow dissipates into falling dust as a hand of rocky particles grasps for Sequester, who is locked in harsh swings with Lennon.
"Three!"
On three, I rush out first, attempting to force any attention toward me as I speed toward Sequester while he's trapped by the hand of sand. The armored figure is frantically deflecting swift strikes by Lennon as the man turns his inhuman skill on and off, seemingly to throw Sequeter off kilter. Bonfire is right behind me, hurtling across the library as his flames flicker across the paper on the floor.
In just seconds of rushed movement, I reach the clash. Mislo is overwhelmed with Kwakiteh, Clarence, ICARUS2, and its little ones, while Sequester is harried by Johnny, Lennon, and Blake's ghosts. And once I get close, instead of joining in to hurry their deaths, I pivot my footsteps and push past them. But as I do, Sequester roars with anger, noticing that we are heading deeper into the library.
"OH NO, YOU DON'T!"
A powerful burst of air fumes from him, hurtling Johnny, Lennon, and the grasping hand of sand backward as the Angelic Nahullo immediately pursues me. Fuck!
I Arbalest forward as I strain to evade him, a gale coalescing around his blade. Then, I do it again, as it sounds like he's only nearing me. Gritting my teeth, I slide to my hands and feet, Arbalesting twice more, but even that's not enough. As I flip around from the Arbalest on my hands, I see Sequester only feet from me, swinging his blade surrounded by gales.
Yet, before he can, the man vanishes and reappears back where he was a fraction of a second ago, behind the barrel of Johnny's gun. The gunslinger pulls the trigger as I right myself, and I don't see the result. Instead, I hear a crash from my left, on the far sight of the library, as light bursts into the darkness from the wall caving in.
A massive creature with fur covering its whole body and eyes that are almost as big as my entire body peeks through the building while radiating shimmering darkness. And upon its body sheens a magenta color that makes my heart skip a beat.
A Fallen. What the fuck is happening!? Why are so many forces here!?
Without warning, the creature unleashes a deafening roar that rattles the very foundations of the grand library, shaking all the walls and tomes within. The sound reverberates through the air, drowning out all other noise, leaving me momentarily stunned and pausing the ongoing battles, leaving Sequester wounded but alive. As the echoes of its roar fade, the beast launches its massive form forward, causing the towering bookshelves to topple like dominoes, their contents spilling out in a chaotic torrent.
I leap and dive with all my might, narrowly avoiding the crashing bookshelves and falling debris that threaten to crush me. The library trembles as if an earthquake has struck, and I can hear the sickening sounds of marble cracking and collapsing under the monstrous weight of the intruder. The once grand and orderly space is now a scene of chaos and destruction. But even as everything seems to crumble, the building as a whole still yet stands. I suppose that is a testament to Weiss' genius.
My heart races as I push forward, seeking refuge from the relentless onslaught of destruction. I weave and dodge through the labyrinth of falling books, using Arbalest repeatedly to stay one step ahead of the collapsing surroundings as I take advantage of my relatively small form to slide through gaps. The air is thick with dust and the smell of ancient pages, making it hard to see and breathe. Not to mention the growing smoke as Bonfire uses his flame to keep himself safe. It is so chaotic that the only person I can even pick out is the flaming man.
The deafening roar of the creature echoes through the now unstable library, adding to the sense of impending doom. I can feel the floor trembling beneath my hands and knees as I fall to all fours, desperately shifting forward with a Leash that pulls me out from under a crumbling bookcase.
Finally, as I press on, my fingers brush against something unexpected the moment the crashing pauses. It's cold and metallic, a hatch hidden beneath the chaos. For a moment, I consider myself lucky until I notice Earl's dusty and scraped-up face right in front of me, the man also crawling.
"You lucky bastard."
Earl grins as he reaches forward and puts his hand on the hatch, searching for something. After just a moment, he finds a lock and pulls out a bottle of sloshing liquid.
"I prefer to call it a part of the plan."
He lies with a smile and a laugh as he dumps the bottle's contents onto the lock. Smoke and an acrid taste rise from the lock as it rapidly melts from Earl's mixture. Shaking my head, I alert the others through Abraham's Allude.
"Earl found the hatch! I don't know where we are, though, so Abraham! Give directions!"
I nudge them all as Abraham acknowledges me and starts to lead them through the weaving bookshelves while a massive roar resounds again, shifting the bookcase hinged above Earl and me. Twisting around, I position my feet against it to keep it up as Earl breaks us into the hidden laboratory. The force of the falling debris rapidly grows as seconds pass, and the roars continue alongside roiling gunfire.
Hopefully, Johnny and Blake are doing fine. This has already become a mess. Why hasn't Johnny told us to retreat yet? Does he not think it's possible? It might not be. All this seems to be adding up to a trap or an intricately planned event. Fucking Eli Weiss.
Gritting my teeth, I force my legs to kick harder with more force as I focus my Daydream for more stable knees. And as moment pass, Virgil is the first to arrive, appearing from the ground as he lands beside us with a whisper.
"I found it just a moment ago as well, but I didn't want to enter without you, Earl. Just a glimpse of it let me see some shit I don't want to fuck with."
Nodding, Earl continues to break into the vault, tearing through lock after lock as it seems dozens exist for some reason. Meanwhile, Virgil uses his Nightwhips to help me hold the bookshelf and take some weight off me.
Then, Abraham and Bonfire arrive from rapid and panicked footsteps as a non-flaming Bonfire and a Nightmareless Bonfire slide into our cubby. Their faces are cut up, seemingly by the wind, as Abraham shouts at us instead of using his Allude.
"Go go, go! Let us in! Sequester is right behind us!"
Fuck. It must be real bad if he is saving Ether from not using Allude. Earl doesn't even glance up as he focuses using his acid and shouts back.
"Wha-Fuck! Hold him off then! This hatch is reinforced steel; no way we're breaking through! I need to melt the locks!"
Cursing, I nod to Virgil as I shift over and look outside the cubby to see Sequester battling all three of Abraham's Nightmares while Abraham shakes in pain from them rapidly dying.
"We don't have time, Earl! Move!"
I force my way to Earl as I slide the Bloody Palm to my hip and let it devour the 1st Flamme Claymore for sustenance. Then, I prepare to break into the vault as a deep gasp of Ether fills my lungs.
After all, I only need to break the remaining locks. It can't be that hard, right?
Weekly Power Status
-- Power
Ranking 
-- Power
stone