Oh wow. Do I have some things to say this time. So much happened in such little time.. I should be terrified.. I mean, I AM terrified, but at the same time.. I'm not? I don't even know anymore. Let's start from where I left off, the terrible pounding on the door. In burst the terrifying man in riot gear, who immediately grabbed me by the neck and brought me up to his visor. I could see behind it, his skin was damn near glowing red with anger.
"WHERE. IS. THE. CALLER."
I had no fucking clue what he meant, and through my terror I said that. "I-I don't have ANY idea what you're talking about!" to be exact. At this he released my neck, claiming I sound too much like a little pipsqueak to be the caller. Then he saw Cam. In an instant, all the anger around him faded, and he sighed. Don't get me wrong, he still looked pissed off as always, but he wasn't glowing red anymore.
"Whatever. I don't even care anymore. Dumbass Cameron."
A brief argument between the man I now know as Conway and Athena resulted in him getting level four clearance. Apparently he called his A.S. V5 software 'Nurse'. A.. questionable name. But a name nevertheless. It didn't last long though. In an instant, we were sobered.
A darkness and pressure overwhelmed the entire area, followed by a tremendous crash.
Of course, all of us ran outside. Why wouldn't we? From behind the safety of the barrier, we watched as two figures had it out. One, a great, lanky giant showing tremendous power and strength, and the other only a couple meters tall at best. It's figure was.. not human. Hell, it wasn't even organic, and that was clear. It looked.. manmade, as in, human-made. Nothing like the intricate designs of Arlo's or the magical beings of this realm.. but open, mechanical, cold and powerful. Its scratched blue hull was made up of boxy-like shapes, barely smoothed out by diagonal flats and given texture by the constant dents, often shining of silver from where the pain was scratched off, and even the occasional hole. It's joints were of a different metal, this one ash-black and seemingly even capable of flexing without losing the strength of metal.. It's entire body was drenched with a crimson liquid, below that brown stains of old blood. It's head, a crude shape like an old CCTV camera, with the lens replaced by a cold and powerful eye made up of bright, piercing orangey-yellow light.
However, most noticeable by far, was the wings. Wings made up at the base of the same two metals that made the joints and hull, before spreading out across the sky like radiant, powerful swords, resembling that of an angel.. if not for the dark crimson staining it's every part.
The Blood Angel, as I've taken to calling it, had a silver blade extended from it's wrist. It looked so simple, old and dulled.. and yet it sliced through the tough hide of the giant with ease, not nearly getting caught, on it's other wrist fired a powerful blast featuring the same energy it's wings were made from, capable of punching holes like a pen through paper in the once-believed unbreakable skin of the giant it opposed.
It wasn't even a battle at this point.. but a slaughter.
Hell, maybe it was never a battle to begin with.
We were feeling rather safe.. Don't mistake me, what I was looking at was without a doubt one of the ultimate peaks of technology. A killing machine that will never stop tearing it's enemies apart.. but we had faith in Arlo. His prowess with technology was clear. It should keep them safe.. right?
As the giant fell once more, not able to push itself up once again, The Blood Angel retracted it's weapons and spread it's arms out to the side, a red mist releasing from it as the blood soaked into it's hull and the metal of it's hull slowly twisted to repair itself, even the paint going as far as to reform.. and within seconds it was back to it's prime. It stared at it's fallen foe as we stared in true horror and fascination. Even the mighty Conway faltered from his barbaric nature for a moment, as he stared in awe.
How lucky we felt to be behind that barrier.. until it's eye flashed towards us. Or.. me. It stared at me. I felt nothing from it, no hate, no anger.. only fear. Not it's fear, but my own. What felt like many lifetimes to me was in fact only a couple seconds, as it's vision scanned the surroundings..
It.. had seen me. Even if just for a moment, it saw through the barrier none of us could even remotely notice..
It's blade-like wings created a loud buzz as they spread thinner and longer, before in a stream of lingering flame, floating in the sky, lagging behind, it was higher in the sky. One more longer surveying glance over the wilderness and it spotted another target. We watched it fly into the distance of the forest, before both it and it's new target appeared into the sky once again. A single movement, and they both hit the ground, toppling distant trees and likely creating a brand-new clearing. Then silence.. A silence I didn't like. Not at all.
Conway left then, deciding he would hunt it, as he marched off into the forest.. Cameron, Sasha and I simply returned inside. Sasha back to the office to do her own thing, while me and Cam opened some unknown spirit by Arlo's creation, and allowed our minds to drift into a blackout for that night. Neither of us wanted to address the horrifying potential of having to face such a being.
I want to go home more than ever. I don't belong in a realm filled with things like that.
It's the next morning now, there are no sounds nearby.. but I feel nothing even remotely close to safety. Only worry, fear and dread.
I hope I never have to face such a thing again. My ignorance shall be my bliss.
It's been about a week now. I feel more comfortable writing again.. Not much has happened. Conway came back after being unable to find The Blood Angel and we've been talking about his and Cameron's experiences here in The Intersection mostly. Sasha has been working hard to make contact with Arlo in the basement office, and otherwise me and Athena have been learning about my new replacement for mana and magic.
I've named it Anti-Mana.. I know. It's not creative, but it does eat away at mana really well, allowing it to work AS an anti-mana substance. It means that most magic items wont work with me though.. so I need to hone by body and get a classically forged weapon in my own time. That way, I can get stronger too. It appears as a sort-of three-dimensional static, like from an old TV.
It's really hard to control, but I'm hoping that practise will help that. If not, well.. It is what it is. It's nice to have a proper goal now though. I need to hone my body, collect rare materials, and practise Anti-Mana control. They seem do-able. And if Sasha is successful, maybe that Arlo can tell me more about what's happening with this Anti-Mana stuff..
With that, I should probably address.. the other day. The Blood Angel. I'm thinking of it as a.. goal, now. Maybe it isn't even hostile to me and my friends, or humans in general.. It does look human after all. but, even if it is..
One day.. One day I'll surpass it. I'm sure.