SILAS

  I draw my sword. There's a crackle as the friction of the blade against the sheathe causes glowing blue plasma to ignite across the length. I widen my stance, bracing as the HERALD shoots through the air toward me, swinging his massive flaming sword downward at me in an arc.

  I catch the blade with my own, leaning forward. The force of the clash makes my sword ring. Makes my arms ring. Makes my ears ring. My feet dig backward into the cement, crunching into it, causing cracks to spread outward. The HERALD peers down at me, eyes flashing on the other side of those undulating flames on the blade.

  "The plasma charge on your sword only lasts for a time," Revenant says, next to me. "You'll have to keep sheathing and drawing it in order to keep blocking these attacks."

  "I know." I don't know how I know. But I do.

  Do you?

  The HERALD thinks I'm responding to what he just said, that weird declaration about the nature of God. He leans forward, pushing, causing me to sink further back, my legs making funnels in the cement. I'm already up to my shins in the floor.

  "He's stronger than I thought," Revenant says, stepping around the HERALD in a circle, assessing him. Then he turns to me. "You have to draw him away from here. If you have a pitched battle here, the two of you are gonna turn this entire bunker inside out."

  "I got 'im," I say through gritted teeth.

  Revenant shakes his head. "He's still in the process of sizing you up. The more powerful he realizes you are, the more strength he'll exert. You may not know this, but SERAPHIM was originally designed to oppose Biodroids. They're reactionary by nature."

  Hmmm.

  I mean, yeah. As far as arena's go, this would be my last choice. If anything, I would have done my very best to keep the HERALD far, far away from here. But that's not what happened.

  I believe Revenant when he says this angel's got a lot more juice, a lot more power. He thinks I should draw the HERALD and away from here? I'm all for it.

  The problem is, I'm kind of pinned down, here. I can't push forward. And if I pull back, I'm done for.

  "I'm open to suggestions," I say. "All ears."

  The HERALD cocks his head, curiously. Of course he doesn't know I'm talking to Revenant. If anything it seems like I'm talking to myself. Spouting nonsense.

  The HERALD pushes forward, towering over me, forcing me to lean back, exerting every artificial muscle in my body to keep his sword at bay. I can feel the blistering heat of the flames on my arms and face, drawing closer and closer.

  Revenant is at my side, suddenly. He looks surprisingly calm and collected. "You can do this, Silas."

  "I...I'm not sure if I can. I gotta be honest, this might actually be it, for me."

  "No," Revenant says. "No it's not. We've got this."

  He closes his eyes.

  Suddenly, I feel a presence. A thought. A revelation. Bursting up out of my unconscious. Up out of Revenant.

  I close my eyes. But only for a split second. It takes concentration. I haven't done this in...well. A long time.

  Synthesis.

  I use Salvo first, summoning the shoulder turrets. Then I combine Salvo with Blast, fusing the two Protocol's together.

  The turrets snap up into a firing position. Then they begin to glow with yellow plasma, charging up dual Blasts. Hands free.

  "Hey," I say. The HERALD frowns at me. Our blades are still locked. He's wondering just how powerful the attack is going to be. Gauging the potential of it. "Eat plasma."

  I let off the Blasts.

  At the exact second I do, there's a rush of air, and the loud snap of billowing robes.

  One second, the HERALD is standing there in front of me, our swords clashing. The next--

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  There.

  Moving so fast that even my Biodroid eyes can barely track him. Circling me. Outflanking me.

  My Blasts go off, shooting across the room, hitting the concrete wall at the back of the Main Hall, behind the platform. Bits of concrete fly outward from the blast point. A tremble courses outward across the walls and floor.

  I turn, swiping, cutting off the HERALD's attempt to hit me from the side.

  Rather than blocking, the HERALD dashes backward to avoid the attack, feet sliding on the smooth floor, wings spread wide.

  Very well. Your defiance has gone on long enough. This place...it must be...consecrated...

  The HERALD turns the blade of his sword point-down and stabs it into the floor. Flames issue upward from the blade and across the pommel, furling angrily. Once the flames calm down, he grips the handle with both hands, pulling it apart into two separate swords. He flourishes them both, testing their weight and feel. The blades are black. The flames are a cool blue. There's a sudden localized blast of air, causing the HERALD's robes to whip about. His hair changes color as well, glowing gold, strands of hair drifting and floating subtly in the air. Two black lines, like paint, streak downward from his forehead, over his eyes, down his face and neck.

  Why do I feel like I just entered the second phase of a boss fight?

  "Your sword," Revenant says. "Quick."

  He's right. The blue plasma glow on the blade is starting to dim. I sheathe it, then pull it back out again, reigniting the crackling plasma.

  The HERALD unfurls his wings, then flaps them with an ear-splitting whipcrack, breaking the sound barrier as he shoots toward me.

  I'm already shooting one plasma shot after another from my turrets. The HERALD deftly deflects each shot with one sword, then moves to slash me with the other.

  The sword whooshes as it whips toward me.

  I block it. Just barely.

  The HERALD follows up with a flurry of strikes, using both swords.

  He keeps coming at me. Driving me back.

  It's all I can do to manage my footwork and keep parrying. The impact of each hit makes a shockwave that travels down my arms and throughout the rest of my body, making my teeth chatter. Our arms, our swords--they've become blurry smudges of motion I can barely track. I didn't know I could move this fast. And to be honest, I'm only just barely pulling it off.

  I jump back, panting, putting some distance between us.

  The HERALD freezes for a second, looking more like a statue than a person. He's not out of breath, like I am. He doesn't need a break. He's merely taking a second to study me, watch what I do.

  I stance up again, moping my sweaty brow with my forearm. As I get a tight grip on my sword again, holding it up.

  Looking directly at me, into my eyes, the HERALD tosses aside his swords, both of which evaporate in the air.

  The message is pretty clear.

  "He's been holding back," Revenant says, materializing at my side. "Toying with you. He's using you to harvest combat data."

  "Great," I say, still trying to catch my breath.

  "It's over, Silas," Revenant goes on. "Unless you can take him out now, while his guard is down. Strike now. Strike with everything you have!"

  He doesn't have to tell me twice.

  There's no time to build up a Blast.

  Instead, I hold up my sword. With a yell, I lunge forward, aiming the point of the katana at the center of the HERALD's body.

  He's gonna move. I just know it. He'll try to dodge out of the way, come at me from the side, I just need to be ready for it, I--

  Wait. He's not moving.

  I jerk to a halt as he catches the blade of the katana, gripping it tight in one hand, skin sizzling from the plasma. Then he strikes the blade with the heel of his other hand, breaking it, scattering bits of black steel that bounce and slide across the floor.

  I stagger back as the handle cracks and falls apart in my hand. A crack splits outward on the cement as the HERALD foots the floor, one quick stomp-jump toward me. His shoulder slams into me with the force of a freight train.

  I fly backwards, hitting something brittle that crumples around me like a big tin can, encasing. I can feel the metal ridges, the flecks of chipped paint on my arms. One of the shipping containers.

  I flex my torso and legs, prying myself free bit by bit. Meanwhile, the HERALD strides toward me.

  Revenant crouches down next to me. "Well. This is it. I was stupid enough to put my faith in you. You took my body. My power. And you failed me. You failed us all."

  He stands, walks away, and turns his back.

  With a grunt, I manage to get myself free.

  The HERALD turns into a fuzzy mirage as he bursts forward, stopping in front of me. His arm lashes out, fingers grasping me by the throat, constricting. He lifts me with one hand, holding me off the ground, squeezing. I bat at his arm with my metal fists. No effect.

  Dark spots drop down in front of my eyes, expanding like oil spills. It's getting harder to think, to focus.

  I activate Blast Protocol. Level Two.

  My arm cannon extends. Vents slats open on the sides as I build up plasmic energy. I'm gonna put a hole right through his head. I'm gonna--

  No. No, I can't. If I give it everything I've got, I'll end up caving in the bunker. Even if it's the only chance I've got, it's not worth it.

  I let the plasmic charge ebb away and die. I put away the arm cannon.

  In the corner of my eye, Revenant looks over at me, surprised.

  Yeah. I know.

  It doesn't feel right, going out like this. But I'm out of moves. I just have to hope Shiloh and Cade are able to get everyone out of here.

  God, I hope there's an afterlife. I hope my family is there. My dad. My mom. My sister. I hope it can be like it was before.

  I hope.

  Man. This is how they died, isn't it? Slowly losing oxygen until the brain shut down. Granted, they weren't killed by a celestial android. They were killed by...me.

  Maybe this is what I deserve. Maybe this is the universe exacting justice for what happened. Maybe God really is acting through this angelic messenger. Perhaps there's some kind of reason to all this. Perhaps...perhaps this is how it should be.

  I decide to close my eyes. I don't want an AI construct squeezing my throat to be the last thing I see. Feeling it is hard enough. Knowing that soon, very soon, I'll have to face my worst enemy, that thing I hate above all other things, that facet of reality I'd expunge forever if I had the chance--death itself.

  Hey, Death. The name's Silas.

  Also...fuck you.