FS CH24

August 19th 2880

Years Sentenced Remaining 750

“Charge men drown out the fires of hell with your blood if you have to.” The bastard CO said.

Franklin Lionel Johnson was not having a good day. He was taken out of cold storage, handed a cheap auto-burst rifle with World Gov printed on the side, and dropped on an open rift. He transferred to Mississippi because shit like this didn’t happen.

Stiff power armor from extended time without maintenance kept him moving.

Rage monsters covered in spikes charged their firing lines and grappled their tanks. When they opened fire to save the mobile armor, black spikes impaled the tanks and any poor bastard close to them. Men dropped like flies, and his CO’s answer was to charge.

A purple-skinned succubus with curved horns appeared out of nowhere and ripped the gasmask off a man to his left. It took one breath for the miasma in the air to sear the lungs. To add insult to injury, she kissed the man sucking out his soul.

Franklin opened fire as more demon women appeared out of the miasma. Arms like steel beams wrapped around him and held him still. Another appeared naked with ebony skin and blanked-out eyes. A possessed the weakest form of demon and the only ones that could be saved. Men died around him as their masks were removed.

He was next. It figured this would happen after moving to a weak city-state. A tactical nuke was on its way, but the odds were good the rift would persist. The nuke would only lower the number of demons to an almost manageable level.

An explosion knocked him and his attackers off their feet. A metal ball with World Gov’s logo unfurled into an implement of death. Panels opened, and lasers cut down the demon still clutching him. Demons dogpiled the drone, only stopped by a barrier. The faint purple fog in the air began evaporating as glowing red crystals emerged from panels on the drone’s chassis.

Then, from the endless swarm of demons held back only by gunfire, a gaunt creature taller than the drone sprinted on all fours. Franklin opened fire, but his bullets were worthless against the demon’s hide. Lasers from the drone failed to do more than burn the demon. It rammed into the drone, and Franklin heard the groaning of metal.

Franklin fell back and stumbled on the body of his CO. The pleased look on the shriveled corpse made the penal soldier’s skin crawl. On the man’s power armor was a particle grenade. That was something guaranteed to shred even a wizard’s barrier.

The drone struggled against the demon as Franklin primed the grenade. His only hope was for Magna Meister to arrive in their mobile suit before the nuke was launched. On the other hand, killing strong enemies decreased the time on his sentence. He threw the grenade and watched its temporary AI locate the target, and MN particle propulsion did the rest. Frankling leaped into a ditch made by tank treads. The drill-shaped head of the grenade pierced the demon’s barrier before exploding.

Like that, 50 years were off his 8x life sentences for sleeping with a Megacity CEO’s daughter. The time wasn’t automatically used; he could increase his rank, get better equipment, or even a sex doll with the years he earned.

The miasma began receding back into the city. That could only mean that someone from artillery had made it through enemy lines or had made a lucky shot. With the threat of nuclear death off the table, he picked up his former CO’s custom rifle and connected it to his power armor. Then he began mowing down demons to rack up more time before they put him back on ice.

…

I was a mess and a half. There were more wounds than skin, and it was difficult to concentrate. I was healing mostly, and my black halo gave me plenty of energy. Jason might have been right; I needed a way to cultivate mental energy. He said we no longer had the technique, which meant it once existed. So, I had to either rediscover it or find an offshoot of our culture that kept the technique.

No pressure; all I had to do was find the name of an offshoot that appeared around the time we lost the technique. Father’s lab terminal should have complete records if the mutants didn’t destroy the server room. I joked about Emily going down there, but it looked like I would make a trip. Father always told us not to go down there. He also heavily encrypted the elevator password. But I was less experienced in seals back in those days.

Like the gravity chamber, it must have been more of a don’t enter until you can manage it independently. Otherwise, why leave it behind at all.

Ember returned with a first aid box and stabbed me with a syringe filled with medical nanites. My technique was hard at work while she dumped disinfectant on me. My cube quickly connected to the nanites and projected their findings.

Demon taint was all over my body, especially drenching my liver black. Small pockets of high energy mostly kept the taint in check while my liver struggled. Ember looked at the report and stabbed me with six more syringes. More medical nanites flooded my system, heading to different parts of my body to remove necrotic flesh from my organs. It was recommended that I go into cold storage ASAP.

Instead, I regenerated the flesh of my organs after the necrotic tissue was removed. After several scans, the nanites concluded I had a minor regeneration mutation and went to work removing the tissue. Unsanctioned back alley medical nanites were great, even if they broke numerous licensing laws.

“We killed a greater demon,” Ember said.

I glanced up as she jumped around and shrieked like a girl about to meet her favorite boy band member. Even if it wasn't necessary, Ember was nice enough to leave my eyes uncovered.

My energy reserves were constantly refilled thanks to my black halo. Absorbing tons of power from the wellspring, the greater demon, and numerous other demons helped it grow. I had a nice constant flow, keeping my reserves topped up.

Originally, this wasn’t the path I wanted to take, the black halo. Then I saw the inquisitor with his infinite mana bootleg and knew I had to do it right. For expensive, constant draining techniques like werewolf regeneration, I needed it. If not for the nanites, I would have had to eliminate the necrotic flesh the old-fashioned way. Rotting from the inside out and battling it with regeneration for weeks instead of training would have been a nightmare.

Once I could walk and regenerate simultaneously, I snapped some pictures with my cube and sent them to my home terminal. Warlock runes were something I had no experience with or even a way to decipher; I would have to pursue the information later. Maybe I would become a student at the mage college and hunt a few warlocks.

Faking being a mage wouldn’t be hard. I could say nonsense and pretend to use fire magic. The thought of referring to my energy as mana felt disgusting, but I needed a stable source of demonic power to improve my black halo. There were other options, like going to a demon state, but some truly powerful entities were there.

“What are you plotting?” Before I could answer, Ember corrected me. “It doesn’t appear to be how to get out of the city with my larder intact. Those girls are the reason we came here.” Ember said.

“I’m not sure if a luxury limo hummer from the 2400s will see them through the siege line of penal troops. We need gas masks, and I will be about three hours at first.” I said.

Transportation wasn’t that difficult; I’m sure the casino parking garage had something with some armor. We had all the gas masks we needed with the troops outside. I might want to weld some extra armor to whatever I pick out, but welding with my aura was easy enough. Really, I was thinking like I was at my power level a few weeks ago.

I sent Jason a copy of the warlock runes. The guy would be smug about it, but maybe he knew where to learn more.

…

Emily laughed as a penal army dropped on Tishomingo, and my brother was trapped under siege. Jason hoped his brother remembered to raise protections against outside influence for once. Atom was always attentive when Father lectured them about protection from demons. Lost souls were well known to trouble the warry and infiltrated easily when prey slept. Jason sent message after message, but nothing was sent. There was interference either from the penal army or the wellspring.

Without Atom, his plans would fall apart. Two against the forces of a megacity was a long shot, but one was suicide. No matter his strength, he had a hard limit on his energy capacity. Some tonics and pills could refill his energy, but despite placing the orders, none had arrived yet.

“Why are you laughing?” Jason asked.

“Because that bitch is probably possessed,” Emily said.

“What of my brother?” Emily gave him a questioning look. “Once we’re married, he will be your brother, too,” Jason said.

This test determined how much effort he would put in to rescue her parents.

“I think it's wonderful that you can still be optimistic in this situation.” The wellspring chose that moment to collapse. “Huh, maybe they survived after all,” Emily said.

“Don’t sound so disappointed. Who do you think closed the wellspring?” Jason asked.

“A hot shot team of mages with a high inquisitor leading them. They might have linked up with the cathedral to understand what happened and went for the wellspring.” Emily said.

Jason nodded, keeping his opinion close to the chest. He would one day be a powerful mage, maybe even a Wizard King. The highest level of mage possible was well within reach. Once he reached that position, no one would bat an eye if he married a grand inquisitor’s daughter. They could be together, and she wouldn’t have to be afraid of what people thought. All he had to do was solve the problem.

The runes in his aura were settling in well, and he could feel his body developing loose mana. Once he had enough, he needed to form a mana core in his metaphysical chest. Then, he could wipe out the monsters in Father’s lab to quickly gain the essence needed to level up. From a basic lvl1 core, he would shoot up to wizard at lvl30. Then, after crossing the lvl49 cap, he would reach lvl50 and become an archmage. Then he needed to reach lvl99 and slay a dragon to become a Wizard King.

“When I become a Wizard King, and we marry, what color wedding dress will you wear?” Jason asked.

Emily laughed long and loud. “I will wear white to represent my purity to you,” Emily said.

Jason nodded and let his mind’s eye fill with the image of Emily wearing a white dress with a long train. Red flower petals and a purple carpet to an altar with his family there to witness his triumph. Then there were the teachers, masters, rivals, and colleagues he would secure on his journey to the top. Friends and enemies both would be there to support him; he could envision it. His brother would be there with a proper wife, the vampire cast away. He was there already, and it was glorious. A buzz brought him back to reality.

Atom sent him some odd-looking runes. It was as he thought; his brother was dealing with the issue. Of course, he wouldn’t forget the basics their Father taught them. His black halo must have gotten some field testing.

Atom: We are bringing some escorts home for our larder. I also robbed the casino, so we have money to spare.