The Power of Ten

Chapter 10-316: Dark Acquisitions

I flicked up the Stats listing, and they read down it slowly, and pursed their lips.

Teleport without Error at will wont be something you missed out on from that erinyes, I noted calmly, and they nodded in some disbelief.

Indeed. They drew out Sleipners Alicorn, pulled out Freds Grit, and attached him underneath it. How do you intend to capture her?

Well, I was thinking I could just lock down the area, and you could show up and beat the ever-loving shit out of the bitch.

The smile that rose was almost sunny. Not the most efficient, but such a plan will be very satisfying, my Lady! they agreed.

How about we drop you off on the west side of the city, and you drive Sleipner on a Ward Ride to the northeast so you get there quickly.

They pulled the Alicorn back off, and the folded-down Cycle was taken out of their Masspack, ready to unfold as soon as I moved us.

Shell recognize you because of your Pact. Maybe you should serenade her so she realizes how youre misusing your Pact, too, I mused thoughtfully, as a Disk popped up.

That sounds possible. Their smile didnt fade as they hopped up effortlessly on the Disk, and I took off up into the sky.

Using The Map as my guide, I had a few hundred miles to go, and I didnt have a Lived-Line, so I could only Linejump myself. I would have to repeat this several times to get to Memphis, but thats what the Pool was for, spending the magic, getting it back for less than half price, spending it again...

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She came in directly below me with a pop of displaced air. I blinked, and the Interdiction went up instantly; I flicked a finger for the Fastcast Stillflight to take effect.

Her hair was a red so dark it was almost black, pale skin with haughty eyes and the posture of a powerful woman, currently in a rather hurriedly-assembled attire of sweats and loose shirt, not even having any shoes on.

Thered been a period of thirty seconds from the time Legion popped in to her appearance here. Given it was very early morning, shed reacted with commendable speed.

Master Fred didnt recognize her until I flicked up my True Sight, and then her current image became illusionary, overlaid by the reality of darkly angelic raven wings, crimson eyes, slowly writhing hair, with an unseen bow on her back and blades at her waist.

All of Legion suddenly got pretty intense, looking at her through my eyes. Yeah, Master Fred recognized her, and they all knew what shed done to him.

The erinyes turned southeast, grimacing as she felt Master Fred coming directly towards her via his Pact. Hellfire eyes snapped due east, magic pulsed-

She gasped as she ran into a metaphorical steel wall of dimensions that didnt bend and allow her to get away.

Pits of Cocytx! she hissed, and her shirt tore as she materialized her wings, beating at the air, and launched herself off it urgently to the east.

Her scream as she started to spin and plummet was most amusing, her wings beating at the air which refused to support her, and were only able to send her arcing back toward the tower as she fell out of the sky.

That did inspire her to look up, and then she saw me there, now a good hundred feet above her as she clawed herself to steel-protesting stop against the struts of the tower, clinging there as the wind at this altitude ripped at her useless wings.

You! she snarled, and then blinked as I began sliding down the struts of the GDS tower right towards her.

Me! I agreed. She tried to bounce away, and I just slid over to match her position calmly, reflexes totally up to her movements. She swore, and then I slammed into her head with my feet, totally ignoring the wings she put up to block me.

Gah! she shouted as I pounded her off the tower and back into free fall, and also left the impression of my foot in the side of her face, sparking with released Focus. If she didnt have the extra Health Qi of being a Pact Grantor, I could have broken her neck there with Find the Flaw, and she knew it.

Blinking away the shock, she spiraled down, trying to manage her descent, clawed hands sparking on the steel as she tried to brake herself, looking up to see me sliding down the side of the antenna in pursuit. I was not even bothering to toss any spells at her, which would have totally sealed her fate, of course.

She was plenty strong compared to a human, but there was no way she had the strength to keep those relatively puny wings spread to hold her weight. She still dropped uselessly, oily feathers clawing at the air as I chased her down, down, and she kicked off the steel and dragged at it to keep herself from entering a death-dive which, while possibly not ending in a fatality, would have been quite painful and possibly crippling.

The acre of field about the tower was mostly clear, and she was aiming outside of the transmission building attached to the tower, halfway between racing me down to the ground and trying to stay in control.

Such a shame. Here in the mortal world for almost seventy years, and unable to pick up even a lick of Class Levels...

She hit the ground hard, but simply rolled and took the impact without any harm, bounding right to her feet. Her blades were drawn and in her hands as she looked up at me following her down. I was skidding sideways down the metal as if it was a lazy slide, obviously completely in control and not at all afraid of her.

I got to the ground about five seconds after she did, braking at the last second and setting foot on, or just above, the cement pad supporting the tower.

You! Traveler! Why are you here? she demanded, wings spread wide, but wisely deciding not to just jump at me.

You are smarter than you look, but still not very smart, I smiled slightly, as Shards winked into jetsilver flaming crystalline teardrop life all around me. Her expression sank as she counted them at a glance, and my total lack of needing anything at all to Cast them. For instance, youre looking at me.

She jerked her head back just in time for Master Freds Wrath-imbued fist to shatter her jaw.

Sure, he gave up a lot of strength, but that Hellscarred face was very singular, and so hed decided to come as himself. The rest of his Legion could just watch, even if they wanted to help him.

His knee came up, his arm grabbed hers and came down, and the nearest Blade went flying. He ignored her whipping hair with rather more DR than she had, and when she cut him across the chest with the other Sword, all she raised was a welt.

He jerked her forward as if she was weightless, ignoring the battering of her wings, and there was another burst of light as his forehead crushed into her sharp nose, flattening it as more Wrath burst out, and the crimson lights in her eyes guttered.

She was trying to pummel him with her wings and blind him with her hair, and he just grabbed her other hand, closed his fist, and she shrieked as diabolic bone snapped and she dropped her other burning Sword.

Still ignoring the wings that were basically hiding most of the fight from visible sight, and now holding onto both her arms, he brought his shin up between her legs, and I definitely heard the crack as her pelvis broke, held down by her arms and completely unable to offset the impact.

He forced her arms to cross, and his next kick came right up between and over them, heel into her jaw. Bone shattered, and rather sharp teeth sprayed with blood that burned as the Wrath hit it.

Her wings stopped moving, but he didnt, dragging her forward and over and down, switching grips halfway onto her head, and slamming her face down into the cement like a piston. Hellfire vented the last of her Health Qi, and he grabbed both of her wings and bent them sharply.

Hellbone and sinew cracked and snapped, bent past ninety degrees, and the erinyes could only writhe under his grip beneath him. The wings flailed pitifully, doing nothing but making more pain for her.

His foot came down on the back of her head again, and one of her horns broke off against the concrete, scattering hellfire. I flicked a Dart at it to eat it.

She had stopped moving. He hauled her upright by her wings, and didnt she look a frightful mess like that.

I think shes under control, I mused to him.

......, was all he replied, holding her there, his black eyes glowing silver counterpoint to the eager hellfire of his Scars, which wanted him to Consume her and take her place as a devil and Pact Grantor.

That shed been the one to give him all those Hellscars only made it all the more appropriate in the eyes of Hell.

Nope, she was going to another. He already had some erinyes exposure he could work on.

Sleipner should be able to extend us back out to our Lived-Line with an hour, I observed, bending over to look at the mangled face of one of Hells Huntresses. I really need to go riding around more under this Shroud.

He drove her down on the Disk I brought up as Sleipner rolled over for us to get aboard. At full speed, he should be able to cross a former Lived-Line of mine within an hour, and then I could Teleport us to China.

Hadnt told Shvaughn yet. Shed enjoy the surprise. I just told her to make sure she was by herself and not too far from one of my Lived-Lines in an hour.

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300+ mph along the Veil to get back to a Lived-Line crossing the surface of the world. Teleport without Error literally all the way around the world to India, where Sama and Shvaughn/Windwise were organizing and leading a combination of slow Shroud-clearing and power-ups, and righteous smackdowns of more isolated Buddhists who hadnt found out what was going on yet.

The various Warlords had learned not to mess with Sama. The smart ones had signed up under her, and were prospering.

Shvaughn was in that Cherokee Amazon Stormbound form of hers named Windwise, who she had informed me (after I asked) that she had acquired in 1920, and there probably wasnt anyone else alive who would recognize her, especially an Amazon version of her, and certainly not in Southeast Asia.

She wasnt even looking at us when Sleipner rolled up, eyes instantly fixed on the Grantor whose Bond was thrumming on her Pact.

It took great effort of will for her eyes to not go Hellfire and Black. She stared at the limp view of the broken erinyes with enough hate and anger to make the air simmer.

Whats the price? she finally ground out, keeping her distance, although her hands were shaking.

Youre going to end up a Pact Grantor. A Raised Geas to never grant a Pact.

Thats it? She glanced at me in shock, then started thinking it through. Ah. No more Kiss Pacts on Earth, and Ill have Hell hunting for me to get the right to Grant them back. They are already hunting for me, so that will mean nothing. Her fists clenched in expectation. Dammit, Boxer, why did you have to beat her up so bad first?

I just snorted at her imploring look. Im not going to heal her up just so you can beat her down again, although... I tapped my chin thoughtfully. I think we all want to see the look on her face, right?

That will work. Windwises figure flashed, turning back to the fire-haired Amazon swordswoman we knew best in almost the blink of an eye, and this time, her eyes did indeed go black and hellfire.