Hail the God-King [ALERT] [OPEN TO 4]

Akoris Hoqor, the Scarab rmeged into the balcony and looked at his kingdom. All around him monsters were creating a village, ready to move out of their dingy and dark subterranean home. ”It appears all is going to my plan, Gallagher.” He said, looking to the werewolf he had chained to the wall behind him. ”Soon the humans will fall, and your idea of so called peaceful cohabitation will be unnecessary.” He smiled, his rotten mouth missing several teeth.

He glowed slightly with a magical purple energy, flaring whenever one could hear his nom de guerre being spoken. His Ren being strengthened with every utterance. He sat upon a throne of sandstone, and allowed his servants - also mummy’s - to anoint him with oils and his headdress.

Another utterance of his name and his rotting hand gained new life, some of the inscribed bandages falling away. ”I will cleanse this planet, friend. And the Kingdom of the Scarab will rule. It’s a shame you won’t be here to see it…”

The man chained seemed to glow with a bright light of his own, golden this time. But it was sucked away into the chains, siphoned into the ceiling of the pyramid. The eye glowed with this golden energy, before it was consumed by the purple of the mummy lord.

In front of the throne was a projection of everything the eye saw, a view from all over the world. Everywhere his influence touched. Some places appeared untouched. The nation of Belarus was holding strong against him, their fields repelling his armies. He was certain they would fall soon enough.

In Eugenia, the city formerly known as Boston, the monsters seemed to resist his call even more than expected… He would have to make a personal trip there, as it seemed sunlight could still reach corners of the pocket dimension.

He faced resistance in Vegas and LA, but it was nothing like the others. He could sense divine energy there, but it didn't seem to act right away. He would have to focus his efforts in those areas, and with a flick of his hand a group of monsters began trekking to Las Vegas. He would have to command from further the monsters of California, but it was no matter. As long as the Eye of Khonsu was active, his magical influence was planetary. Wherever the moon’s light touched, he could see. And he could see the entire planet.

He tapped his fingers impatiently as he watched the armies of night, ready for his conquest to be completed.

Seth plowed the Night Van directly into a group of zombies before barreling out of the vehicle and firing a shotgun at a werewolf. The rounds were silver tipped slugs. The thing didn’t even remotely stand a chance. He seemed to blur for a moment as he took a vampire from behind with a wooden stake. A fey goblin creature came at him with a knife, and he stuck a cold iron boot in its face. The thing was disintegrating before he even realized what happened.

”Alright, what do I know about mummy’s?” He flipped through the book and found the relevant passage. ”…So the mummy’s dry flesh and oil soaked linens make them susceptible to fire… if they are killed, they will reappear at their canopic jars in 5 days, so destroy those. Okay. I can do that.” He closed the book, having gotten the info needed.

He began looking at the army of monsters. So many kinds were gathered and guarding that the book would be damn near worthless… so he’d have to use some universal methods instead.

He reloaded the shotgun and made his way into the throng.

With a flash and a woosh, the world seemed to light up as a jet of white flame leapt from the twisted wooden Staff held in Meris hands. He twisted at the hip, moving the fire from left to right in a spray. The golden eyes of Merlin, Champion of the Fey narrowed as he moved.

"I told you we should have asked for a portal closer to the Pyramid," he snarled, as he let go of the Staff with his left hand, curled it into a fist, and smashed it into the face of a charging Werewolf. The lycanthrope dropped to the ground, lightning crackling down his body, flesh singed slightly.

"It's not my fault. You're the brains of this operation," came the reply from nowhere.

"Yeah, yeah, yeah. It's never your fault," Meri replied, as he kicked a zombie away. Another blast of fire set several more alight, and crumpling, as the magic-eating flames ate away at what kept them mobile. Already, there was a wide half-circle in front of the wizard, and the monsters were moving back, slowly.

"Who's the new kid?" asked the voice, just before the shotgun went off. Black Ice crackled and appeared around Meri, blocking the slug from killing the wizard after it dropped another Werewolf.

"Good question," replied the wizard, as he turned towards the van, and the man who had just come charging out of it. He lifted the Staff and let a ball of White Fire roar out into a pack of zombies. He followed along, using the Staff to bash monsters as he passed them, lighting crackling along the length of the weapon.

Within the state of Nevada, five others were in the area. Among the Regulators, a full fireteam consisted of four people. They were all veteran law enforcement or military. They were the best of the best...but they were only human. Taking point was John Lovell (known to his team as "Alpha") clad in full riot armor, toting a top-of-the-line military rifle. With practiced ease, every shot he placed was a headshot, with incendiary grenades for the stubborn zombies that just refused to stay down.

Taking up the spot next to him, Brick was armed with Dragon's Breath shotgun slugs and was similarly aiming for the head...because you can't enforce the Geneva Conventions when you're on fire. Near him, Voodoo was laying down fire with old, reliable M249 SAW. Not one for precision aiming, his goal was simply keeping zombies and monster pinned until people with more kill potential could get into position.

That brought them finally to Deadeye. Taking up the rear from a vantage point with a full-on anti-material rifle - the former Marine FORECON operative made headshot after headshot, with his main goal being to thin out large or highly-armored targets before setting up elsewhere to aid the advance.

Other Regulators were spread out across the US, trying to help those in need. The team couldn't really expect much more backup than they already were. At best, there was a single ammunition drop they could call in. But otherwise, they were stuck with what they had.

"They have a cave troll..." Brick remarked upon seeing one particular monster.

"Cut the chatter, Brick," Lovell said. "Deadeye..."

"Already on it," Deadeye radioed before pumping in one, two, three shots to the big guy's head. Disoriented and in its death throes, the creature made one final effort to make sure at least one of the Regulator team perished alongside it. With a toss of a slab of stone, Brick failed to get out of the way completely before being clipped in the leg.

"Gyah!" he grunted in pain.

"Man down," Voodoo radioed.

With a growl, Lovell took out his Big Iron and began fanning the hammer, emptying the five-round cylinder into the troll. With .45-70 being a buffalo-hunting caliber, the already-injured creature fell backwards, the earth rumbling under it. With Voodoo and Deadeye providing watch, Lovell went to check his subordinate, reloading all the while.

"How bad?" he asked.

"Not good..." Brick grunted out. "I think both fibia and tibia are broken. I won't be able to keep up with the team."

"Damn it...we've come this far and we can't call abort," Lovell cursed.

"Leave me here," Brick said. "You're the resident badass - you've got this."

"Hell, no," Lovell said.

"Perhaps you'll allow me to assist," a female voice sounded. On reflex, the team trained guns on the source of the voice.

Descending on black feathered wings, a beautiful young woman hovered in the air. Scantly clad in red and gold, her tattoos glowed a shining yellow.

"Do not be alarmed," she introduced. "I am Athena, a Herald of Balance. The Powers That Be have sent me to deal with this crisis."

"A Meta?"

"Not quite," Athena clarified. "Heralds are chosen by the extra-dimensional beings to maintain the balance of good and evil. What is happening here threatens to upend that balance. I have pride in my power, but could nevertheless use your assistance."

"Do we trust her, Captain?" Voodoo asked.

"We have little choice, but Brick is in no shape to do anything," Lovell said.

"Ah, then I'll assist," Athena said, before a wave of light engulfs three of the four Regulators before her- an Ameliorating Aura. Every scuff, scratch, stab, or break were immediately set and mended.

"Captain..." Brick trailed. "I can move my leg again...it hurts a bit, though."

"I'm afraid there's little I can do for the pain," Athena said. "Still, my healing powers are at your disposal."

"Voodoo, give Brick a shot for the pain," Lovell ordered, and Voodoo nodded and got right on it. "What are you going to do, Athena?"

"I can fly, for one thing," Athena stated, as if it weren't obvious. "I'll give an eye in the sky and cloud the minds of problem creatures..."

Before Lovell could say any more, Athena flapped her wings and took off into the sky, her long white hair gracefully catching air as she looked ahead.

Count Astraic smirked as he laid a straight flush of cards on the table. The other vampires grunted and groaned as he scooped up the sizable pot.

"That's the third good hand you had in a row! Can you be more obvious that you are cheating?" Said one of the vampires who just lost a week's pay.

"Not my fault you all fucking suck at gambling. Besides, I don't need to cheat, I'm just that good." Astraic chuckled.

He was cheating and had been doing so for the last 3 hours but they couldn't catch him in the act. As he was dealt a new hand and about to use a ring of storage to slip another card into his hand there was a thunderous sound of a horn. It was all-consuming, he couldn't think, couldn't breathe, he could only feel the deep resonating vibrations of the horn's call.

When the vibrations reached a fevered pitch, a repeating command pounded in his skull, 'Kill the humans those who oppose us. Come to the Scarab.' While in this madness mantra threatening to dominate his mind Astriac snarled with defiance and railed against his would-be oppressor.

He knew better than anyone the stink of magic and this positively reeked of it. His unique vampiric blood fought back against this intrusive magic, eating it, absorbing it. Gradually the horn's call got softer until it was background noise, barely noticeable if he didn't pay attention to it.

As he slowly came back to his senses, he raised his head from the table, a trickle of blood running from his nose. He looked at his vampiric comrades as they thrashed around or remained perfectly still.

"What in the goddess' tits was that?" Astriac asked them. The vampires all stopped and slowly turned towards him with eerie silence. There was something very wrong with them as they looked at him with a feral glazed look in their eyes.

"Fuc--" He was caught off as the vampires he'd been hustling leaped at him like starving animals. He flipped the table as he stood up and kicked it at them with inhuman strength before beheading one of them with his clawed hands.

While he was outnumbered 5, well now 4 to 1, this was grossly in his favor. He was the creme of the crop, a noble amongst vampires. These thin-blooded bastard vampires were but a pale imitation of what a true vampire could do. Count Astriac relied on his regeneration, powerful even by vampire standards as he ripped them apart until only he was left. He stood in the now-destroyed pub listening to the sounds of chaos outside when another voice spoke in his mind.

'Eugenia...Under attack...Find usurper. Kill them.' The voice of one of the elder vampires rasped in his mind. Astriac frowned as he heard his orders. If he was getting them from the very top then whoever was doing this launching a grand-scale attack. Sadly for this "Scarab", they are fucking with the wrong people. Focusing back on the horn's call, he knew where to go. Images of a pyramid appeared in his mind with a tugging sensation pulling at him toward a direction.

"Fuck, of course, it is across the country. Going to have to use the Fey Roads if I want to get there in time."

Draining the last of his mead and fastening his rapier to his belt he became a blur as he raced towards the nearest fae gate. Around him was destruction and chaos. People fought and killed in the streets. The lesser folk grouped and fought against the various monsters terrorizing the streets but they would not hold out for long. Arrive at a fey gate he killed 3 more of his taken comrades before the gate teleported him thousands of miles from Eugenia to Las Vegas.

He materialized in what looked to be an active warzone. Zombies, werewolves, vampires, and more swarmed the area. He didn't need to look around as he knew where this Scarab was instantly from just how much magic was radiating off the pyramid in the distance. It was like a blinding star to his senses. Before he was able to race toward the pyramid a vast horde of zombies surrounded him.

Drawing his rapier he gave them a snarl. "I'm going to turn each and every one of you fuckers into a shish kebab." He said before a van plowed through the horde. He saw what looked to be a mere human barrel out of the van, firing off slugs into the crowds.

Not only was there a human with pitiful "modern weapons" but there looked to be some sort of wizard in the thick of battle as well, unleashing fire that burnt away all that it touched. Astriac's senses compelled him to study the wizard more closely and he could feel a sizable amount of magic radiating off of him and his staff, no doubt a magical focus. It was hard to tell just how magical the wizard was with the almost all-consuming presence of magic that radiated from the pyramid. Still, seeing the mage effortlessly burn away the hordes of the dead like the morning mist. Perhaps this mage and gunslinger could be useful in clearing a path for him to the monolithic structure...

He didn't have much time to think about this as the opened pass was slowly closing with the hordes regrouping. Astraic followed in the wake of the van until he was close to the human. He couldn't get farther though as the crowds were too tense. Lashing out with his rapier at a werewolf, he knew this was going to be a long night.

(Outlaw)  

The Laundry Room, a small little speakeasy, located in the heart of the city, was rather quite today. Sean was the only patron at the bar, as he savored his glass of Jack, enjoying the slight burn as the liquor went down. :Almost 200 years, and whiskey has never changed.” He muttered to himself.  

“Sir, I am being ordered to close the bar...” The Bartender stood in front of the gunslinger, his face paler than before, clearly afraid of something. “Monsters are on the loose, and everyone is to evacuate to the nearest shelter.”  

“Oh, is that so...?” Sean asked in a nonchalant tone, leaning back in his chair as he took another drink. “Well, how about ya go on and get to that there shelter, friend, I’ll sit here and finish my glass, then close up for ya.”  

“Sir, I don’t think you...”  

Suddenly the sound of screaming could be heard outside, followed by two figures crashing through the front door of the bar. The one on top had the bottom one pinned, as they leaned down, biting down on the poor civilians throat, pulling away with a spray of blood. It looked up at the other two, revealing the blood covered face of a young woman. Her skin was pale, eyes red, her snarl revealing both canines were longer than usual.  

She was a vampire.  

“Huh, so this is what that horn gone and done to ya” Sean didn’t move from his seat, as he took another sip of his drink.  

The vampire screamed, lunging off the body as she full sprinted for Sean.  

Suddenly, there sound of a gunshot filled the room, as Seans revolver was in his free hand, firing from under his arm at her.  

There was a splatter of blood from the womans throat, as she dropped and slid across the floor lifeless.  

“Right...” Sean finished his drink. “Looks like I’m on the clock...” He stood up from his seat, looking to the bartender as he spun the revolver on his finger. “I’ll be back to pay the tab.” He then strolled out of the bar.  

The city was in chaos, as people scrambled to get to the shelters, stumbling over each other, cars crashing into one another.  

Sean felt a strong presence outside of the city, something that was causing all this chaos. He had heard the horns call earlier, it’s sound made his insides feel like fire, but he couldn’t figure out why. So, he did what he always did, get a drink, and wait for the proverbial shit to hit the fan.  

“So, let’s go and see what has everyone in such a stir.” He started his way out of the city, walking towards the pyramid.  

(Talos)

”Sir, multiple reports of monster attacks are being called in, it appears the horn has somehow caused up to 98% of all known and unknown supernatural beings across the globe to frenzy.”

“And you’re sure it originated from the Pyramid?” Jacob stated as he rushed around his lab, preparing his suit.  

”All scans show the pyramid as the source location, yes.”

“Okay...” He rolled his neck, stepping into his suit, feeling it close around him. “Time to roll out the welcome wagon.” The roof over him opened, as he launched into the sky like a missile. “Yuri, give me a good song.”  

“I have just the one, I think you will enjoy, it is a classic.”  

The audio played out of his suit as he flew over head, Turn Me Loose by Loverboy drowning most all other noises. It drew the attention of several of the massive flying Bat-like creatures, who turned to fly directly towards him.  

“Let’s dance.” He stated as he shifted into a hover, holding out his arms as he started blasting beams of energy from his blasters, dropping the bats one by one. “Feel the full, concentrated power of the sun!”

”Zombies? Werewolves, vampires- oh look, a giant spider? What is this, the fiftieth anniversary of shitty monster movies?!”

Gunfire erupted to his right, the flag-clad Patriot concentrating with gun in hand, while the roar of a muscle-bound man with a sword of gleaming metal and a pitch black shield waded into the fray, slicing through the horde like a farmer harvests wheat. It was impressive, in a way, ribbons of blood spinning like fountains, painting a macabre picture of death. A shimmering green barrier curved in a half-arc around himself and the bunny-eared girl behind him, Florian Woodwind, chosen of the Old Oak. This barrier was nearly impenetrable, at least from beings like these.

The gunfire seized for a brief moment, the barrel smoking; in a flash of digital light, it reloaded, and the barrage of bullets continued. Despite the horrors happening outside, the silver-haired shopkeep wasn’t that worried; in fact, he was more annoyed than anything. That sound … he had never heard the like. Despite scouring his sources - those who were still alive and slash or not turned into mindless, rage-driven freaks - they had no knowledge on it, nothing at all that would tip the balance in their favor. Though … he had to admit, if this was all the big bad behind this had up his sleeve, it wouldn’t be enough.

”Who wants to bet that giant evil pyramid with a flaming eye is the culprit? Baka, at least be original.”

The withering look he received from the now-blood splattered Ofrarian on his right caused Haru to chortle, but the other two ignored him, as they rightfully should; even Haru could admit his jokes were ill-timed, but if he were honest he was stressed the fuck out right now. Knowledge had always been his baby blanket, the one thing that kept him safe from the horrors in the dark was the knowledge that he could fight it. This? This he couldn’t fight.

”And to think, we were gonna open a Vegas branch of the Spiders Web. Shame.”

Maybe it was still a possibility if Vegas survived this, but from his recent trip in New York, it was doubtful it would bring in much revenue, though having a portal to the West Coast would be helpful in acquiring some rarities for the shop. Ah, well, maybe he’ll take advantage of the reconstruction; of course, Vegas would have to survive for that, and that was something Haru was very much invested in. A place of debauchery and sin like this was perfect for his operations.

”Alright, enough fucking about. Patriot, follow the van. Barret, with me. Florian, go with your husband, he might need the support.”

At once they nodded, another flash of blinding, digital light and a full horse appeared, the somewhat-organic looking limbs giving way to a fully robotic chassis and head, where it neighed- or played a voice file made to sound like a neigh. With the smooth, practiced ease of experience, Patriot swung into the saddle, lifting the rabbit girl like she weighed behind him. With a flick of the reigns and a “hya!”, he was off, moving much faster than any horse could, following the black van barreling down the street.

Haru watched them go for a moment, then clapped his hands. Time to get this show on the road. With the hulking form of Barret traveling behind him, Haru began off at a run; at first a slow jog, and then he was sprinting, each step pushing himself faster and faster. He had yet really pushed himself since that day he died and spoke to Hebel, a god of some sort (he never could find information about him). But then he was brought back, and somehow he had gained power. As he ran, the color in his hair disappeared like ink, splattering the ground behind him and revealing long, silky strands of silver, glistening in passing lights. Barret kept up easily; even with his new powers, he could not overpower the physical powerhouse that is an Ofrarian.

”Nice staff you have there. Do the fae know a mere human has it?”

He had appeared in front of the bestaffed mortal, though not quite the speed of a speedster, he was still significantly faster than a normal human. A glamour flickered around him, compelling those with weak souls and minds to bend to him, a natural seduction he couldn’t turn off (not that he would if he could). And then behind him, still covered in the rotted gore of the undead stood Barret, a void of magic, the web of mana diverting to be consumed by the man. HIs arms were crossed over his chest, disapproving of this interaction but not saying a word.

Meanwhile, the robotic horse leaped and lurched over the masses of monsters, an occasional blast with a black-colored shotgun clearing the way for Stars and Stripes to continue its headlong charge. Finally, as the black van came to a crashing halt and the individual driving it came out (and proceeded to kick an impressive amount of ass), Stars and Stripes came to a halt, metal hooves coming to grind to a stop on the street, leaving twin grooves in the asphalt. With about as much grace as a sack of potatoes, Balthazar leaped off, the spurs on his boots jangling; then helping the black-dressed bunny woman down with much more elegance.

”Howdy. Our employuh sent us ta help you out. Names Patriot, and this lovely lady is Florian. Pleasure.”

He tipped his star-spangled hat, though his grin never did quite reach his eyes; as much a mask as anyone can wear, his eyes were deep green and cold as ice, surveying watching the area with shotgun cocked on his shoulder. Florian placed a hand on the small of his back, her warmth taking some pressure of him; but still, he felt like a coiled spring. He never signed up for this, to fight the undead and monsters. A glorified bodyguard, that’s what he was. His first instinct was to run, but he knew Florian would never go for that, and these being monsters, they weren’t bound by Oath, so he could not even use that excuse. No, he was stuck here, but he was going to be unhappy about it.

”Pleasure to meet you.”

Her voice was like gentle moving leaves, evoking imagery of a calm wood amidst a storm. It was a voice not meant to be speaking the language of man, but one to emulate the growls and grunts and cries of the wild world. There was an accent there, as there was on her husband, but whereas his most distinctly American Southern, hers was hard to place. Immediately after she spoke, she began to walk around, her mere presence causing flowers and roots to creep from their homes, covering her bare feet.

Akoris watched the intruders as they attempted to assault his fortress. Most of them human, but there were… others. He raised a hand for the army of the long night, and the entirety of the monstrous host stopped. When he spoke, it echoed across the field with authority. ”Greetings, heroes. That is what they call you in these times, yes? I can sense among you those that should be in my service.” His face was placid, kept intentionally still as he spoke but his eyes burned brighter with every passing moment.

”I do not understand why you have chosen to fight against me, Astriac of the Eugenian Courts, Haru Shiba of Vanity, and Seth Martin the Night Walker…” His fleshed hand clenched as the armies began to move again. ”But you will be crushed for this abomination.”

The earth shook as a giant reptilian claw burst its way out from beneath the army. The monster had to be at least 15 stories tall with rough skin that shone like iron. ”Ah, the island of Ke-Ahi-Ahi finally gives up even one of its children. Have fun with that.” The mummy walked further into the pyramid, closing the doors behind them.

Seth glanced at the people around him as they all seemed to follow the van in. There was a vampire, a wizard, a bunny girl, a cowboy riding a robot horse… well, weirder groups had been formed he had no doubt. He didn’t know where or when though.

As the giant monster popped out of the ground, Seth frantically began flipping through his book trying to find a relevant page. The only thing he found was a page marked “Kaiju” which had a simple word underneath it. ”RUN!” Seth said as he pulled one of the revolvers from his holster, tossing his shotgun to the side.

The monster swung a gigantic barbed tail at the group, the barbs catching the van as it’s easily lifted from the ground. It ripped a chunk out of the metal and chewed. It seemed to puff for just a moment…

And spewed molten metal into the air, seeking to hit the flying heroes. As the metal rained upon the heroes on the ground, it solidified into a rain of hot steel. Night Walker had crawl underneath the kaiju’s legs just to avoid the hail of bullets.

Meanwhile, the monstrous army seemed to be focused on taking out the heroes, with a swarm of human faced scorpion locust hybrids screaming their way towards Talos, a trio of bat winged women with flaming bidents flew at Athena, one of them tossing the weapon at the heroes chest. On the ground, Astriac was surrounded on all sides by vampire spawn, Barrett and Haru were suddenly stopped by a scantily clad demonic woman, who seemed to be beckoning for the descendant.

”I don’t know what this kaiju is, so I can’t exactly aim for a weak spot! Wizard, you got anything that can take down an unknown quantity with as little effort as possible? Maybe like a fireball or something?”

Merri glanced at the arriving... reinforcements, and grunted slightly. Two vampires, a flying woman, a robot of some kind that was blasting music as it fought, and then what appeared to be a hastily assembled squad of superhero rejects. One of whom had the audacity to question Merris claim to the Staff.

"Yes, the Fae do know I have it. In fact, I work for them. Currently. I'm Merriman Davies. The Black Staff, and Heir of Merlin." The Staff tilted out and leveled a werewolf, leaving it crumpled to the ground and shaking as lightning arced along its body. He turned and blasted a horde of charging zombies with a fireball, and then turned back towards the man. He cut a hand sharply in front of him. "Drop the glamour. It's no use here, and if you get caught in a blast of my White Fire, you'll lose it anyways."

"And besides, it's dumb," came the voice of the Staff. Merri brushed his free hand across his face to hide his grin, before he opened his mouth to say something. Before he could, however, he was interrupted by a voice booming out from the direction of the pyramid.

”Greetings, heroes. That is what they call you in these times, yes? I can sense among you those that should be in my service. I do not understand why you have chosen to fight against me, Astriac of the Eugenian Courts, Haru Shiba of Vanity, and Seth Martin the Night Walker… But you will be crushed for this abomination. Ah, the island of Ke-Ahi-Ahi finally gives up even one of its children. Have fun with that.”

Merri watched as a giant lizard clawed its way free from the ground, and began to rampage. The gunslinger who had arrived first turned towards Merri.

"I don’t know what this kaiju is, so I can’t exactly aim for a weak spot! Wizard, you got anything that can take down an unknown quantity with as little effort as possible? Maybe like a fireball or something?”

"I do have one thing we can do against that," Merri replied. "But you're not going to like it." Taking a deep breath, the wizard took off at a dead sprint towards the pyramid, angling to run under the giant lizard. As he did, he lowered the Staff until it was pointed in front of him, like a spear, and let out a warcry. Not a scream. After all, wizards didn't scream. As he charged, Fire erupted from the end of the Staff, burning down the magical creatures in front of him, and clearing a path from him to charge.

Athena's immediate response to the bident being thrown her way by raising a psychic barrier that stopped it cold, only to retaliate by encompassing one in a Stasis Prison. One of the  armed demon women was temporarily trapped in a crystal of holy energy - she can neither act, nor be acted on for the duration. Athena cursed the lack of sunlight in the area - the lack of light for a Light Herald made maintaining her stamina more difficult, but being in the presence of noble-hearted allies offset that, to a degree.

In addition, her current power set encouraged subduing enemies rather than killing them - this meant that Psychic Judgement (manifesting as an arc of electricity at the now-disarmed demon woman) could only render its target unconscious rather than kill. Of all the times to not manifest as a Dark Herald...

For as much as her Light half disliked the tendencies of her Dark half, Athena had to admit that the increased lethality of the Dark Herald's abilities would be helpful.

Still, a bullet from a .50 caliber anti-materiel rifle planted into the head of one of the other demon women as Deadeye struck home with his weapon before panning his rifle on the Kaiju, working the bolt before moving to make out any cracks in the armor. The loud report of his rifle sounded as the bullet flew for one of the gaps. On the ground, Lovell, Brick, and Voodoo were moving up.

"Captain, ahead: Metas!" Brick radioed.

"Oh, great," Lovell said. "I just can't catch a break from Metas. Forget them. Focus on the demons, for now."

"Metas, get down," Brick ordered before priming a stun grenade, tossing it between the succubi and the Descendant and his companion.

In the accompanying flash, a pair of .45-70 shots rang out from Lovell's revolver, hitting one - if not both - of the succubi.

Finally, Voodoo took up rear guard of the group, opening fire on any of the army that attempted to flank.

As he dodged and slashed, darting across the confined space with unnatural speed he slowly but surely made a buffer zone around himself and what looked like his potential allies in this mess.  He wasn't quite sure who these weirdos were but the simple fact none of them had yet to stab him in the face or set him on fire was good enough for him at the moment.

He wasn't quite sure what the plan was here. He was always more of a doer than a planner and wished he had the luxury of time to sneak around and observe. Still, it felt like every minute wasted was another step closer to Eugenia collapsing and his comfortable life with it.  

As he was ripping the head off an imposing werewolf, thinking about what to do next an all too familiar voice rang out.

”Greetings, heroes. That is what they call you in these times, yes? I can sense among you those that should be in my service. I do not understand why you have chosen to fight against me, Astriac of the Eugenian Courts, Haru Shiba of Vanity, and Seth Martin the Night Walker… But you will be crushed for this abomination.”

'This cunt.' Astriac thought to himself. He would have thought up more colorful words but the rumbling of the earth interrupted him as a massive behemoth of a monster crawled out of the ground.

”Ah, the island of Ke-Ahi-Ahi finally gives up even one of its children. Have fun with that.” The Scarab said

'So going to stab this cunt in the face.' He mentally dialed up the amount of bullshit to expect from today up a notch.

The hunter yelled something along the lines of "Run!" Which caused Astriac to roll his eyes.

"No fucking shit." He muttered

The behemoth spewed the molten remains of the van, causing a downpour of lethal projectiles to rain on the group and more importantly, Count Astriac.

He snarled as a group of vampire spawn tried to surround him and hold him still for the molten rain. Kicking one in the chest and shattering their sternum, he lifted another above him as an impromptu umbrella and bolted through the crowds.

He looked around the field trying to see how the rest were doing with this large-scale attack but couldn't get a good look at everyone with everything going on. The gunslinger with the horse and the girl were lost in the crowds, the wizard was doing some sort of frontal charge, blasting away with flames, and there was someone above getting swarmed by some sort of bugs, and lastly, the hunter was ducking for cover under the kaiju.

He had met his fair share of would-be slayers and most of them were such a pain in the ass with their "plans". As he watched the hunter, he had a gut feeling that it would be wise to keep him alive, if anyone can pull out a bullshit answer for whatever fuckery they face, it would be a hunter.

He sped towards Night Walker, Dodging a stomping foot, far larger than he was, and stood next to him, tossing the charged husk of the vampire spawn he carried.

"Don't shoot, I'm not one of those enthralled bastards out there...It looks like you need some help." He smirked. "And I just so happen to be very helpful."

Talos  

”Sir, the satellites are reading a massive seismic disturbance...”

“No shit...” Talos looked up as the massive Kaiju rose up from the ground below. “Do they also read the massive fucking monster?”  

”Scans are show...”

“Sarcasm, man, sarcasm.” The hero scanned the skies, looking for a clear path, as he continued to blast incoming creatures. “Guess I just need to fly hard and fast.”  

His jets suddenly got much brighter than before, as he suddenly shot off like a missile, smashing through every creature that dared to fly in his way. A sudden burst of air, followed by a sound similar to gunshot echoed over the desert, as he broke the sound barrier.  

“Didn’t anyone tell you...” He spun in the air, shifting his flight path as he avoided a swipe from the monsters massive claw. “The house always win!”  

He stopped the moment he was level with the creature, smirking as it opened its maw wide, letting out a thunderous roar at him. “That’s right, open wide.” He held his hands to his side, as a center module on his chest started to glow a bright blue.  

Suddenly, the sky and desert was lit up by a shining bright blue light, as a bright beam of blue energy blasted the creature right down the throat of the monster.  

Outlaw  

As the gunslinger continued his way towards the Pyramid, firing off rounds at any monster that crossed his path, he realized something.  

“I need more ammo, and a ride.”

Luckily, he was in Nevada, and guns weren’t hard to come by. As he took a little detour, finding himself at 2nd Amendment Gun Shop. Inside, he noticed that it was still surprisingly well stocked, though the dead bodies, and ghouls could be responsible for that.  

“Now, I hate to intrude, especially during someones dinner...” He fired at a charging ghoul. “But I am in desperate need of some ammo.”  

Quickly dispensing with the others, Sean barred the doors, before looking around the shop. Alas, most the guns here wouldn’t be very effective, not without the proper ammo, which he was sure this store wouldn’t carry.  

He stepped behind the counter, looking in the back stock. “Oh my lord...” He opened one of the many military grade crates, revealing a single barrel tactical grenade launcher, with a digital sight and foregrip. “Ya know, those Anti-meta fellas may be assholes...” He picked up the weapon, looking it over. “But they sure do buy the best toys.”  

That’s when he remembered his second problem, he wasn’t gonna be able to carry all this.  

As if providing an answer to his problem, he found a set of keys hanging from a hook by a door, the word Garage written on a sign glued to it.  

“Oh, it’s must be my birthday.” Outlaws smile grew as he stepped into the garage, seeing the vehicle the keys went too.  

Several minutes later, the armored Humvee smashed through the garage door, and through a pack of ghouls that had followed his scent.  

“Just like riding a mustang.” Sean declared, as he sped down the street, making sure to take roads clear of civilians. He had taken the entire stock of .44 ammo they carried, loading up several ammo belts, which he had covered himself in. He had also grabbed the launcher, and several 40mm rounds, which he had wrapped around his waste. They might not kill a lot of things, but they’ll hurt like hell, and slow them down.  

He made much better time, as he spotted several others fighting through the hordes of monster, pulling up next to two of the men. He grabbed the launcher, stepping out into the fray, immediately firing a 40mm grenade off to the side away from the others, the explosion blasting many of the creatures into pieces.  

He turned to look at Seth, admiring his gear. “Nice pieces...” He nodded to the two revolvers. “Which demon did you sell your soul too to get them?”