The fight was immediate. One second I was sizing up this cosmic aberration, the next I was diving to the side, barely escaping a punch that would have turned me into Reaper paste. The shockwave alone sent me flying, the air rippling with a thunderous bang.
My body slammed into a tree, splintering bark and branches. My body, a projectile, kept moving at breakneck speed, destroying everything in its path. My jacket flapped wildly in the air as I strained to regain control. With a thought, my scythe materialized in my hand, its form shifting in an instant. The blade morphed into a hook, the handle losing its rigidity to become a flexible rope.
I swung the hook mid-air, aiming for the ground. It tore into the park's manicured lawn, carving deep fissures in the earth as I pulled hard, trying to break my descent. I landed with as much grace as I could muster, gripping the rope tightly, but I couldn't keep the grim expression off my face.
I'd faced some tough customers in my time as a Reaper, but this? This was something else entirely. What the hell was this thing?
The entity stood a distance away, motionless. If I didn't know better, I'd say it was taunting me. And damn if it wasn't working.
I clicked my tongue in annoyance. This wasn't how I'd planned to spend my day. But I couldn't just leave, not without Constantine's soul. This had been termed a priority target, and Lilith would have my head – literally – if I screwed this up.
Glancing around the park, I tried to think fast. The mortal world around us was frozen, caught in the entity's grip. That was baffling enough on its own. To maintain this kind of temporal lock, even for a short while, took more power than I'd seen in centuries.
But then a thought struck me. I could still move. This confrontation wouldn't even be necessary if the entity could affect everything. If it wasn't using that power on me, it probably meant its abilities only worked on the mortal world. It was a gamble, but it made sense. Not that the thought did much to ease the dread settling in my non-existent stomach. I was still thoroughly screwed.
I called up my system interface, demanding an analysis. "Run a scan on this thing. What is it?"
[SCANNING ENTITY...]
[ANALYSIS COMPLETE]
[ENTITY TYPE: ALTERED PSYCHOPOMP]
[THREAT LEVEL: UNKNOWN]
[ADDITIONAL DATA: INSUFFICIENT]
My brows furrowed. In all my time in Hell, I'd never heard of anything like that. Either Hell's supposedly complete information database had some serious gaps, or... "Malakai," I sighed. "You guys really are trying to kill me a second time." Not that true death was possible for a Reaper or a Demon. We could be destroyed, sure, but our essence would just roam for centuries until we reformed from infernal energy. Still, it wasn't an experience I was keen on.
I tried the system again, but once more, all I got was that useless classification.
[ENTITY TYPE: ALTERED PSYCHOPOMP]
[NO ADDITIONAL DATA AVAILABLE]
Might as well call it "Thing That's About To Kick Your Ass."
Just as I was about to give up on getting any useful intel, my system pinged. Its mechanical voice rang in my head:
[WARNING: HOSTILE ENTITY APPROACHING]
[PREPARE FOR COMBAT]
I looked up to see the entity slowly approaching, shadows dissipating from its being with each step. The ground beneath its feet blackened and corrupted as it moved. I sighed. No choice now. Not that I was scared, exactly. Maybe I was even a little excited. If this was how I went out, at least it'd be something new after centuries of monotony. Maybe I'd finally stop feeling the guilt of killing my men. Funny how twisted the universe sense of humour was.
My scythe materialized in my hand, the familiar weight almost comforting. With this baby, sometimes I felt like I could take on a celestial. But I wasn't stupid. All I needed to do was survive.
I tapped my lapel, and my badge started beeping red. The system chimed in:
[DISTRESS SIGNAL ACTIVATED]
[TRANSMITTING TO DoSA...]
[TRANSMISSION COMPLETE]
Then, with what I swear was a hint of grim amusement, it added a quest notification.
[NEW QUEST ACTIVATED: SURVIVAL]
[OBJECTIVE: SURVIVE UNTIL REINFORCEMENTS ARRIVE]
[ENEMY: ALTERED PSYCHOPOMP - CODE: APC-013]
[RANK: C-]
[TIME LIMIT: 5:00]
[REWARD: UNKNOWN]
I scoffed. This thing didn't feel like a C-rank anything. For the first time in my afterlife, I was pretty sure my system was dead wrong. And what was that code? APC-013? I'd never seen anything like it before.
"Great," I muttered, steeling myself. I activated battle mode, and my tailored suit began to change. It lost its crisp lines, becoming almost liquid before expanding and hardening. Scales formed across my chest and arms. The jacket elongated into a coat that flapped dramatically in the wind – because if you're going to face cosmic horror, you might as well look good doing it. A black skull mask materialized over the lower half of my face, leaving only my eyes visible, now burning with infernal flames.
I gripped my scythe, feeling energy snake across its hilt. The weapon thrummed with power, pulsing in sync with my own essence. The air around me began to repel, charged with so much energy that any mortal unlucky enough to stumble into this standoff would be instantly vaporized.
I watched the entity's approach, waiting. It was dangerous, that much was clear. But I needed to be careful. Hell's time flowed differently from Earth's. Help would come, but not as quickly as I'd like.
I glanced at the timer ticking away in the corner of my HUD.
[TIME REMAINING: 4:58]
That's all I had before a more powerful Reaper would arrive to handle this cosmic clusterfuck.
All I needed to do was surv—
My thoughts screeched to a halt as my eyes widened in disbelief. Everything around me slowed to a crawl. The entity's fist was mere inches away from my face, radiating a heat that made Hell feel like a pleasant spring day.
In that split second, I did the only thing I could. I activated Quick Step, instantly appearing at the other end of the park.
[SKILL ACTIVATED: QUICK STEP]
[QUICK STEP CHARGES REMAINING: 4/5]
[COOLDOWN: 24:00:00 EARTH TIME]
Not that the distance would matter much, given the insane speed this thing was moving.
As the entity's fist pulverized the space where I'd just been standing, I allowed myself a grim smile. I was really fucked.
***
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