Darling of Fate 3: A LitRPG Apocalypse Adventure, page 34
I didn’t think he was the president’s bodyguard, given how uncomfortable he was with the crowds, which only left one plausible option.
He was a Climber.
It seemed the president had brought one of his own show dogs and the man was just as uneasy with the pomp as I was.
Johnson met President Bank at the bottom of the stairs and they shook hands with broad smiles. Their tone, however, didn’t match the façade they were showing the cameras.
“Mr. President, pleasure to have you in our humble—”
“Too important to meet me at the airport, Trevor?” The question was innocent enough, but the steel in the president’s voice carried the intention.
Johnson, the consummate politician, kept his face even.
“I wanted to personally oversee the preparations for your arrival. It’s not often we’re graced with the president’s presence.”
“Save it, Trevor.” Bank eyed Craig with narrowed eyes, then turned to look at me. When he took me in, his eyebrows rose. “What’s with the cape? Didn’t know Superman was one of your aides.”
I let the words wash over me without so much as a flicker on my face. Instead, I was watching the man I suspected was a Climber. He dismissed Craig and Johnson in an instant—which was a mistake, though I didn’t blame him—but when we locked eyes, his posture shifted. It was a controlled shift, not something I would have picked up without my enhanced stats. A slight bending of his knees, a shift to his front foot in case he needed to lunge. I didn’t know what it was about me, but he seemed to pick up that I was a threat and he prepared accordingly. I simply nodded in greeting and he returned it. But his eyes never left me as I turned back to the president.
“Ignore the cape, Mr. President. This here is the man responsible for putting America on the top of the Leaderboard. Dirk Damascus, in the flesh.”
That got the president’s attention and his eyes widened briefly. He held out his hand and I shook it.
“Pleasure to meet you,” he said. He nodded toward Johnson with a smile. “What did this old cheat offer you to get you to stand at his side?” He smiled to soften the insult, but Johnson’s tight expression told me it hadn’t softened it enough.
I forced a chuckle. “He gave me a company of soldiers that I trained to help save the people still trapped in the Tower.” The Climber at Bank’s side stiffened, his eyes narrowing as he seemed to reappraise me. I turned my attention back to Bank and shrugged. “And a pile of cash, Mr. President.”
Bank tilted his head with a smile, then burst out into a laugh. He turned to Johnson who matched his smile, though it didn’t touch his eyes.
“You son of a bitch! Why didn’t I think of that? Bobby here only agreed to come after I pardoned his brother.” He elbowed the Climber at his side, oblivious to the man’s unmasked scowl.
Craig, not used to being ignored, held out his hand.
“Mr. President, I’m Craig Allen. It’s an honor to meet you.”
Bank gracefully pivoted, giving Craig a hearty handshake.
“Mr. Allen, don’t think I forgot about you.” He gave Johnson a wry look. “The number one and the number two at your side? Be careful, Johnson, or I’ll think you’re coming for my office.”
Johnson and Bank laughed heartily while Craig, Bobby, and I were more tame in our expressions.
“Come on, Mr. President, let’s get a drink.”
Bank gave him a scolding look, tilting his head and narrowing his eyes.
“It’s 10 in the morning, Johnson…” A smile slowly replaced his frown and he slapped the governor on the arm. “Ah, fuck it. Let’s drink. You still have that Macallan?”
Johnson’s smile was tight as he nodded.
“I save that for you, you know that—”
Everyone froze in place as if time itself had stopped. Then the panic started. Gasps went up from the crowd and the police and Secret Service escorts shot into action like a kicked anthill.
Bobby and I shared a concerned look as we both realized what we were seeing.
Bank muttered under his breath.
“Not again…”
Humans of Earth, firstly, congratulations to those Climbers who have successfully cleared the First Floor. You are a credit to your race…even if some of you possess unsanctioned advantages. Fret not, those individuals will be dealt with accordingly and the sanctity of the Tower shall be restored.
In other news, it has come to my attention that many of you have procrastinated on entering the Tower. I highly encourage those of you who have yet to enter to do so now. To incentivize you, I’ve decided to release the next wave of demons early! I find that primitive races such as yours don’t always understand what is best for them, but all they need is a little…push.
To that end, this wave has been augmented slightly. Do not panic! Safety can be achieved within the Tower!
Anyways, that is all. The second wave should be hitting right…about…now!
Secret Service swarmed Johnson and Bank, enclosing them in a wall of bodies.
“Mr. President, we’re moving!”
The two men were whisked away before they could even register what was happening. Down the stairs, the crowd and paparazzi were panicking, pushing against the barriers and police to enter the State Capitol building. The police looked on the verge of being overwhelmed.
Michelle sprang into action, racing down the stairs as she yelled commands.
“Let them through! They’ll be massacred out here!”
The police ignored her at first, but then a call came in on one of their radios and they were peeling back up the stairs, followed closely by the crowd.
By my side, Bobby, the president’s Climber, had pulled a wicked looking sniper rifle from his Inventory. It looked like a .50 cal I’d seen in a shooter video game and I whistled appreciatively.
“That thing’s hot.”
He pat it lovingly, his eyes trailing up to the roof.
“I’m heading up there.”
He started to run toward the front door and I stopped him with a hand on his shoulder. He looked at my hand, his eyes narrowing.
“I can get you up there faster if you’re interested?”
His eyes relaxed and he nodded.
“Follow me,” I said, then ran over to the side of the building. “I’m gonna pick you up.”
Before he could respond, I wrapped him in one arm and locked him in with Friction energy. Then I scaled the wall at a sprint, reaching the top in seconds.
“Hot damn,” he gasped, eyeing me in surprise. “Wasn’t expecting that.”
I chuckled, then spotted the Secret Service agents on the roof who were suddenly aiming guns at us. Holding up my hands, I stepped in front of Bobby and cycled my Mass to the max.
“Hold your fire,” I shouted. “We’re with the president.” I nodded toward Bobby. “He’s gonna lay down some sniper fire on the demons.”
Four of them approached, their guns still pointed at us. One was talking into his wrist, no doubt asking for guidance from his command. After a back and forth, he looked up with wide eyes.
“You Dirk Damascus?”
“In the flesh. And this here’s Bobby…uh…”
“Bobby Lancaster.”
The agent said the name into his radio, then nodded a moment later.
“You’re cleared. Just keep it down site and watch for civilians. It’s a cluster out there.”
Bobby nodded. “Where you want me?”
I left him to the agent, leaping over the side with Red flared wide. As I floated back down to the stairs, I scanned the crowd. To the left, I spotted my party, along with Nikki, Athena, and Lex. I angled that way as I continued to scan for that golden-blonde hair.
“Where the fuck are you?” I muttered to myself.
“Dirk!”
Lacy was waving me down and I waved back even as I kept scanning. But Craig was nowhere to be seen.
“Fuck, fuck, fuck!”
I landed next to them, cursing under my breath.
“Anyone seen Craig?”
At the mention of his name, the mood went from concerned to panicked. Nikki’s mouth dropped open, Lex honked, and Amos clutched his pigeon tightly to his chest.
“Maybe he went inside with the president?” Lacy suggested.
I groaned. “Shit, that’s the last place we want him. Lex, what can we expect from this wave? How much harder will it be than the imps?”
He flapped his wings and rose up to my shoulder. “Normally, I’d say it’s nothing we couldn’t handle…”
“But?”
He sighed. “Null said he augmented it. That could mean brutes, fliers, even burrowers! I…I don’t know how far he’ll go!”
“Goddammit,” I muttered. “Okay, Lex, get in the air. We need your eyes up there calling out whatever you see.” He took off without complaint, which told me just how seriously he was taking this. “Lacy, how far can you extend your illusions? Can you hide this whole crowd until they get inside?”
Her eyes went wide.
“I-I don’t know!”
“Try!” I turned to Byron. “Start buffing us.”
“Which ones?”
“Anything, just get them going! Amos, send your pigeons up to support Lex. If there really are flying demons incoming, he’s gonna need it.” The Aussie nodded, whispering to Lala before sending her and her siblings off. “Mama G, were you able to make another [Heaven’s Delight]? Amos can’t take it, but the rest of us can if the worst happens.”
She nodded, pulling it from her Inventory and handing it to me.
“Thanks. Jerome, can you handle the crowd? Last thing we need is people stampeding each other trying to get to safety.” He grunted, then took off at a run, his armor and helmet suddenly in place. I turned to Frank. “You’re on Craig watch. I want you sticking at Lacy’s hip while she works her magic, okay?”
“O-okay, Dirk. Bu-but what if C-Craig gets me?”
Shit, I didn’t have an answer to that.
“Lacy, can you [Fortify] Frank while you cast your illusion?”
“Yeah, but then I’m vulnerable. It’s single target!”
“Damn. We’ll just have to rely on Frank calling out any red threads well in advance.”
She bit her lip but nodded in agreement.
Next, I turned to Athena. Her eyes darkened as she realized what was coming next.
“Athena—”
“No,” she interrupted, her lips tight in a frown. “I’m not gonna go hide in the building with the cowards. I can fight!” Her tone was almost pleading.
“And what if Craig mind controls you?”
She faltered, then set her lips. “He w—”
A voice in the distance called my name.
“Dirk!”
Looking around, I couldn’t spot anyone waving for my attention. Michelle was still down the stairs organizing the crowd with Jerome as support.
“Dirk! Up here!”
I looked up to see Bobby leaning over the roof edge, pointing in the distance.
“You need to see this!”
I cupped my hands around my mouth.
“What is it?”
He shook his head in disbelief. “It’s Craig! He’s with the demons!”
What…?
“Be right back.”
I boosted my Agility, leaping halfway up the building with a single jump. Climbing to the roof took me less than five seconds, and I was at Bobby’s side a moment later.
“He’s fighting them?” I asked the man. “How?”
Had he taken over some soldiers to take the fight to the demons? That didn’t make sense…unless he was trying to win some political clout.
But Bobby was shaking his head with a scowl.
“Not fighting them.” He indicated the scope on his rifle. “Take a look.”
I squinted at the man in confusion, then did as he suggested. Looking through the scope, I shifted it around until I found that shining gold hair in a sea of red and black. My stomach flipped and I gasped.
“No fucking way.”
Craig was sitting on a hulking demon’s shoulders, a smug grin on his face. All around him, the wave of charging demons shifted as he pointed a finger.
Right toward the State Capitol building.
Chapter 38
Battle Goose Online
What the fuck? It didn’t make any sense.
“What’s that crazy sumbitch doing?” Bobby asked. “Looks like he’s leading ’em straight for us!”
I pulled away from the scope, a scowl etched deep on my face.
“That’s because he is.”
Bobby stared at me a moment, then started nodding his head with a determined look.
“See about that.” He shifted his rifle onto his shoulder and started jogging across the roof.
I figured I knew what he was doing and I prayed it would be enough. But I couldn’t stay to watch him. The demon wave had materialized so suddenly and so close they were practically on top of us. I didn’t know how they spawned, if they crawled out of the earth or if Null could just summon them wherever, but it didn’t make sense how quickly they had arrived. The crowd below was still streaming into the building under Michelle and Jerome’s direction, but it wouldn’t be fast enough.
The sea of red and black seemed to surround us from every direction. Now that they were closer, I could pick out the individual demons and unlike the first wave, they were a varied sort.
At the front, smaller, four-legged demons raced ahead, like dogs, but nearly hip height. Behind them was a line of two-legged demons about shoulder height. I had to squint, but it seemed that they had weapons in their hands—bars of metal, jagged swords, and the occasional whip to spur the dog-demons ahead.
Finally, the last group of demons were hulking behemoths that ranged from ten to fifteen feet tall. They were spread out amongst the approaching wave and moved slower—though I wouldn’t say slow. Their long strides ate up the ground at a terrifying pace, only eclipsed by the dog-demons and their smaller demon brethren.
And on the largest hulk of the wave, sat Craig-fucking-Allen. I almost felt like I could see his smug smile from here.
“Dirk!” a voice called from below.
I leaned over to see Frank cupping his hands to yell up at me.
“Red threads everywhere in the demon pack.”
No shit, Frank. I waved back at him and closed my eyes, focusing on Lex’s vision.
Lex felt a tremor of fear in his feathers as he flew high above the second wave.
Hellhounds and Overseers, he had expected. But Brutes? And this many? This went far beyond a personal vendetta against Dirk and Kurian; Null was making a statement.
Get into the Tower or die.
This was so far outside I.A.S. regulations that Lex couldn’t help but wonder how his Sire had allowed this—let alone the Master, Himself.
Unless…had Null made region-specific augmentations specifically to target Dirk? Then an even worse thought occurred to him.
What if Null wasn’t just targeting Dirk…but giving Dirk’s mortal enemy a step up by providing powerful Adept-level demons?
“This is gross misconduct!” he yelled up to the Heavens. “I’ll be filing a complaint with our Sire the moment this Tower is concluded!”
The air shifted, suddenly feeling charged. His feathers tingled and the wind currents rocked him. Lex’s eyes went wide as he realized what was happening.
He banked hard left, pinning his wings back as he dove down a hundred feet in an instant. Lightning cracked where he had just been.
“HONK! You son of a—!”
Never in all his years would he have imagined one of his brothers targeting him like that. A few weeks ago, it would have left him an anxious, crippled mess and he probably—no, definitely—would have rolled over and died.
But he’d seen Dirk defy the Heavens too many times; fight so damned hard against all odds and somehow, find a way to come out on top. Inexplicably, the man’s determination and shout-into-the-ocean level of stupidity had infected Lex.
When he would have given up before, now, he just found himself pissed off.
“Bring it on, bitch!” he shrieked at the clouds. A thrill passed up his spine at that final word.
Ohhh, I understand the appeal now—
The split-second charge in the air was the only warning he had, and he dodged another crack of lightning with a tight barrel roll.
A moment later, a Flier warped into existence thirty feet above Lex. His eyes went wide as he saw the demon dive for him, feather-shredding talons extended.
Lex’s understanding of aerial combat was limited to his short skirmish against Amos’ pigeons last week. But the one thing he’d learned in that short fight was that whoever had the altitude had the advantage.
Couple that with a distinct lack of offensive options, and well…Lex was fucked.
He went into a dive, pinning his wings to his body to give him speed. He couldn’t risk a glance back without ruining his aerodynamics, but he could feel the Flier gaining on him. The threat of those talons at his back had a gravity to them that pulled at his mind. He veered left, then right, but no matter what he did, he could sense that he was moments away from being shredded like he’d gone through a woodchipper.
As the Flier neared, a strange sound filled the air and Lex took a moment to wonder.
That wasn’t the sound a Flier made…
The strange sound grew louder as the Flier drew nearer and Lex was tempted to glance behind him, knowing now that he couldn’t outfly the demon.
Then something caught his eye—not from behind him, but from below. The sun glinted off a grey metal disk, arcing up from the ground toward his position. That sound he had been struggling to decipher suddenly became clear.
It was the sound of a buzzsaw chewing through the air.
Lex tucked his wings tighter and aimed for that disk. A moment later, it buzzed right past him and he was rewarded with the sound of it sawing through the Flier demon effortlessly before it arced around. He spread his wings wide and banked into a glide. The disk followed him, forming an orbit around him as he pumped his wings.
