Inferno Ascended

WEEEENGH

Glax could hear the cables stretching and about to fire at a 20kg pull.

His best reaction was to use his time control to escape. Instead of approaching the wall to check the mark, he rewound the time by returning to the entrance, where he wouldn't be exposed to shots from the Darts Launcher Turret. 

He found that bending time was much easier now. Glax managed to position himself behind the wall, redoing his action of choice before releasing his grip of time. He waited to see what the turret was going to do.

The turret passed the same path it would take, this time without noticing Glax. Its small wheels left the trail in the dust. Glax even went out of his way to get a better look at the 'possessed' machine. He realized where the recent shots had damaged the automaton's casing, but it didn't affect its functioning.

Glax located the weak point of the dangerous turret as he followed it behind the columns. If he was hit by one or more bolts at close range, the chances of surviving were slim. But there was a simple, yet risky, way to get the turret out of the way.

Taking his backpack off his back, Glax threw it in the middle of the corridor the turret was surveilling. The automaton turned around looking for the source of the noise.

A little anxious Glax waited for the robot to come close to the backpack. He only had one chance and hoped his conclusion had been correct. As soon as the robot got closer to him, Glax came out from behind the column and launched himself at the base of the turret, using his sword as a lever to lift the automaton, and pushing it with all his force.

The robot fell flat, at the same time that its bolts went off in all directions.

Glax was now lying on the dusty floor, watching as the wheels spun uselessly in the air and the bolts spread upward, falling like kindling or crashing into the walls. Some of them fell on his back, protected by the Aegeons' shield.

"Ah, easier than dealing with the boar-matons. Why has nobody thought of it before?!"

The robot tried to get up, uselessly, because its conical shape didn't allow him to lift by itself. His system was reloading more mini-bolts, and unloading them again without Glax interfering. In the third refill, the Valosian noticed that some bolts stuck and the machine was overheating.

But after a few strokes in strategic places, Glax broke the machine, using the shield to protect himself from any preloaded bolts. He finally broke the carcass and pulled out the bulb where the antichor was. 

Glax saw a pattern. Apparently, one needs less antichor than ichor to animate a machine. Also, the machines were not as complex and genial as the first one he found - the Armorion Crab. But that was a divine wonder, while those machines were merely combos of steampunk engineering and some black magic.

This time he tried not to damage the bulb, to keep the soul inside and not let it enter his vselys clock. Glax still needed to know what kind of side effects this 'collecting of souls' would cause him. He also collected some bolts in case he needed them in the future.

Now he had to find the injured person.

He had already scanned the entire temple and found no one, so Glax left the place and headed in the direction of the arrow. It was still clear enough to see the bloodstains on the way. 

He went through a very destroyed part of the village, until he saw something moving behind a wreckage barricade.

"Hey." He called, sword in hand.

Then he saw a huge shadow move, his pitch-black cape, like wisps of darkness flying in the wind.

"DAFUQ!" Whatever it was, it was on top of one of its wounded companions, and it was not a machine. Glax quickly climbed the dunghill, ready to play the hero he was not.

The icy blade touched his ankles quickly, flesh, blood, and bones exploding along with the feeling of emptiness. Perhaps except for the first day in Stygia, it was the first time that Glax felt total panic.

He was almost swept and cut in half by a strange scythe, separated from his feet in a matter of seconds. His last action was to go back as long as he could. He saw the man with silver eyes like polished shields look up and to his face as Glax manipulated time and returned his action. He did not climb the rubble, brandishing his sword.

He drew his gun and shot from afar, in the shadows, even without aiming.

The strange man leapt to the top of the barricade, his tattered cloak made of darkness swaying menacingly behind him like black wings. He wore a short tunic, also black. His blond hair was so short it was possible to see razor wounds on his scalp. He had the appearance of a young god, if Glax could judge that. His scythe was a divine weapon whose bluish, serrated, and icy blade vibrated very fast… Glax's modern mind made a parallel with an electric knife to cut bone and meat, but made of sturdy galeon and thousand times more efficient!

"OUCH! You… "The obviously supernatural being grunted, wiping the blood from his arm. At least his blood looked ALMOST normal.

"Hey! Stop right there!" Glax didn't want to face THAT. "Let's talk."

"Talk? You were going to attack me," replied the strange being, unmoved.

"Eh, you didn't stop to think, either. Nothing states we are enemies. Who's there?" He directed the question to his companion that he still did not know the identity, but supposed to be Pydna. And there was confirmation when she coughed,

"Pyd - na!"

"Excuse me, you are on the way between me and my colleague. It's an emergency. Thanks for stopping by to help."

The silver-eyed supernatural being looked at Glax in disbelief at such shamelessness.

"I'm not impressed, if you ask me. I've seen much more impressive CGs in Fantasy Gear Realm XI. " Glax needed to show more confidence than he felt, and he moved forward resolutely, still keeping his weapons ready.

Frowning, the god, or whatever, moved away so that Glax would pass and reach Pydna. He uncovered an elixir that he now knew what it was for, with the help of women who understood herbs. Glax crouched down beside the warrior and made her drink the liquid. This should stabilize the bleeding, Pydna's biggest problem at the moment.

"If you are a reaper of life or something, you can go around. There's nothing for you here." Glax warned the man with the scythe.

"!!! You are petulant! And what do you do with that orb in your backpack? Don't you fear the gods and their punishments?"

"Ah. That. I didn't kill it, if that's what you're implying. Now I realized that it must really look like… well, it's like I'm walking around with a body in my backpack. But no. I just pulled it out of a machine so that won't…" Glax held Pydna's wrist to measure her heart rate; luckily his 'internal clock' could easily do that. Too bad he didn't remember what a 'good' heartbeat was. I could only see that it was irregular. He started doing bandages, it was what he could really do for her.

"Hang in there, Pydna."

She opened her eyes and turned them towards the creature in black, with explicit fear in her eyes.

"Are you still there? Waiting for her to die? " Glax asked abruptly.

"Do you also intend to carry her soul in your backpack?" The being replied with a question.

"AHHHH! Our conversation is not going to get anywhere like this. I don't know who you are, but if you are a reaper ... You or you are doing a terrible job. These orbs are being stolen, and with this strange liquid, they can animate and fuel the machines. But you don't use this technology, you use something made in a divine forge. Can't you complain to your superiors that they do something about it?"

The being crouched down where it was, observing what Glax was doing with some curiosity. "If you don't look for an iatromancer or give her something that can breathe more life into it, it will be useless," he warned.

Glax thought quickly. "Do you know that there is an iatromancer here?"

"I saw him act."

"And where are they?"

"There." the man in black pointed to one side, without thinking twice.

Glax stood up at once. "Pydna, I'm going to get Zotikos. Hold on… Wait!" He turned to the strange being. "Do you want me to get away from here for?…"

"Uhum. But if you're quick, maybe you can get here before I… you know." For the first time, the strange man with the scythe seemed to smirk, with some amusement in his eyes.

"How can I trust you ...?"

The man shrugged. Glax looked at Pydna. She was pale as wax and her closed eyes were trembling. The darts had hit her hard. Only an iatromancer could save her.

"If you take her before I get back," he said, pointing a finger at the man in black while standing up like a spring. "I will find you and you will regret it."

"Hm, at least the first part is a certainty." The man scoffed, and shooed Glax away.

Still looking back, Glax bolted in the direction he indicated.