God of Nothing

Crash!!!

Rayse stared at the ceiling as the entire earth shifted from beneath him. He gripped the ground with both hands, trying to endure the unexpected quaking of the ground. It was night and day from the previous loud shaking that it actually felt like the ground would give way. He stayed that way for a while, closing his eyes until he felt the force slowly go away.

"Let's go!" He heard Luna say. "Hey, newbie! Keep up! We're not gonna wait for you." She added, before leaving through the reopened gate. Rayse hastily got up, pulled along by his spear as he sped to the outside with the squad, who were making a beeline towards the large mound of rubble in the distance where Luke stood. Wait, rubble?

"Whoah." Rayse belatedly noticed that the wall that should have been in front of him was now gone. 

"Don't space out, kid. Luke's gonna get overrun soon. Go get him out!" Luna shouted from behind him. Rayse didn't even notice that he outstripped the group. He focused up, already seeing the hounds in the distance going for the veteran soldier.

Rayse sped up as he watched Brandon land on the ground next to Luke, swinging widely at the hounds who were already snapping at his heels.

"Watch out! Shockwave!" Rayse slammed the butt of his spear into the ground as he landed, sending a wide wave of energy towards the enemies in a wide area.

"Thanks, lad." Luke sighed in relief. He was in rough shape. He was down to one knee, muscles taut and breathing heavily. Whatever he did to bring the wall this far out, it took everything he had.

"Can you hold on to this, Luke?" He held up his spear. Luke took one look at it and shook his head.

"...'fraid not, son. My hands are still shakey from mana exhaustion."

"Hmmm." Rayse grunted in assent, pulling out his shield instead. He set it floating horizontally in front of Luke, who looked on expectantly. 

"Assault mode." The shield widened, now easily able to carry the large man to safety.

"Hop on, I'll send you home." Rayse said before turning to the enemies gathering in their direction.

Luke flopped onto the back of the shield, which buckled under his weight. Feeling that he had gotten on, Rayse sent him on his way.

"Shield charge."

The shield sped away, close to the ground but fast as ever. Rayse briefly glanced back before squaring up with his friend.

"Hey, he's out. Wanna go back?"

"...Nah, I'm kinda luring those fliers here. Do you think I should fake a limp?"

"We just got here, genius. They'll know you're faking it."

They joked around, letting the enemy focus on them while Luke got away. Rayse felt good. He was always laid out in the battle for one reason or another, but after that last one, he felt bursting with power.

"Are you two children?! Get back in, you'll be surrounded!" Luna loudly scolded from afar. Brandon flinched, but stood his ground for a bit more. Rayse chuckled beside him, refusing to move as well. He felt tremors from the ground, different from the ones Luke's spell caused.

"Feel that? Some of them are beneath us. Jump when I say so." He warned.

He felt the ground starting to give way, and he instantly stabbed his spear deep beneath his feet.

"Skreee!"

His spearhead found purchase, stabbing the creature that tried to ambush them. The ground continued to give way though, and it seemed like there was more than one of them.

"Jump!" Rayse shouted, as he and Brandon leapt away from the spot. A couple of massive centipedes burst forth from the ground, almost goring them with their massive pincers. Rayse breathed a sigh of relief, but took it back when the enemies spat out a wide spray of acid in their direction.

"Uh oh. Tailwind!"

The wind rebuffed the dangerous liquid, making it fall far short of the target, but it discouraged Rayse from wanting to stay in the battlefield all the same.

"Blade storm!" Brandon sent waves of sharp energy towards the enemies, who readily put up barriers to defend.

"I think we should go…" Brandon shared his misgivings as the pair slowly backed away. A third centipede sprang from the ground at that moment, blood gushing from its eye.

"Human!!! Enough of this foolish resistance!" it screeched, its humanlike head surprisingly eloquent despite its anger.

"More bugs? Didn't master squish all of you?" Brandon called, making the beast even angrier.

"""Skree!"""

The insects pounced once again, charging at the pair with mouths dripping with acid.

The two turned around and fled, trying to catch up to their companions underneath the wall. 

They caught up at the gates, just in time to see Sonia carry Luke back inside. Rayse recalled his shield and stood around the entrance.

"Huh? What are those barrels for?" Brandon asked, pointing out the objects that lined the entrance to the town. 

"It's our last line of defense." 

"Master? Weren't you upstairs?"

"Lacey and Eric have it under control." Aleph checked each strange contraption, tinkering with something none of them could discern.

"Listen, men. We are taking our stand here until daybreak. We've been preserving ourselves thus far, but we cannot afford to hunker down any longer."

Rayse and Brandon looked at each other, levity all but gone.

"Is this related to the emissaries once again being active on the battlefield, master?"

"Yes, child." He answered, looking at them now and narrowing his eyes. "I saw what you two tried to do. Although you were unsuccessful in taking out more emissaries, it was a decent attempt."

He stood and raised a spear, striding back outside the gates.

"Form up, squad. Here are your orders: Go outside the hall and hunt down the enemy leaders. The townsfolk will handle the defense of the town. Am I understood?"

__________________________________

Aleph watched as the remains of the squad left in groups of three. Brig led one team along with Polo and Brandon, while Luna went with Rayse and Sonia. With Eric and Lacey providing support from the wall, Aleph was confident that they could take down any emissary they came across.

"Kyrios! Come forward!" He addressed the soldiers that would be manning the gates this time around. The gates itself had long since burned down along with hundreds of harbingers, making the entrance literally the largest hole in their defenses. He assigned some men to stand guard, already having finished giving them an idea of how his makeshift flamethrowers worked. All that was left now was to put them in action.

Aleph walked a good distance away from the gates, hoping to ease his new recruits into the fighting. Hardly fifteen minutes had passed since bringing down a wall on his enemies, and a good number of them were already within view. He put down any stragglers, completely focused on the large mob of harbingers thundering towards him.

He corralled the simple creatures, pulling them along until he was ushering a sizable group into the gates. The creatures seemed so eager to finally enter town and begin their massacre that they obliged.

He swiftly reentered town, rallying the older men and women that he got to man the barrels. Each flamethrower was operated by a pair, along with several on standby to swiftly replace the barrels. Once Aleph crossed the threshold, the people beside the barrels began working on the rudimentary pumps he crafted, feeding the fuel right up to the nozzle. Owing to their years of physical labor, they were quick to apply what Aleph showed them prior. He nodded in satisfaction. They may not have had the military precision he had come to expect from soldiers, but that should not matter with what he had ordered them to do. 

The people manning the nozzle aimed them at the enemy, awaiting his orders. The mob in front had only grown, with more joining in even without Aleph's meddling. 

"Activate the ignite runes!" He commanded, as the ones holding the nozzle touched a specific part of the contraption. A small flame sprouted near the mouth, ready to spit flames the second it came in contact with the fuel. This was the best thing about artifacts: you don't need to be a mage to use them.

Aleph allowed the mob to come a little closer before finally giving the order.

"Fire!"

A brilliant flash filled his vision as the entire group of harbingers were swallowed up by the flames. The artifact empowered the flames, giving them a stopping power not possible with normal flame. It knocked the enemies back, where they burned harmlessly away from the stunned townsfolk.

They looked taken aback by what they had just done, some even flinching at the following crystal explosions even though they had been informed of them prior. Once that passed, however, shock gave way to an even more cathartic release.

"""Aaaaaahhhh!"""

The townsfolk cheered. 

Aleph called one of the men who was overseeing the operations. It was the young man named Andrew, the one that told him about the barrels in the first place.

"I need you to lead these men. I'm going out to hunt their leaders."

"M-me? But–"

Aleph rested a hand over the young man's shoulder, stilling the tremors that went through him.

"You are a capable young man. I believe in you."

"Y-yes sir!" Another tremor went through him now, but from a different emotion. Aleph could see his words gaining purchase in the young mage-to-be, increasing his confidence.

"Good man." He praised, before turning to go. But before he did, he leaned in his ear, and said as quietly as he could.

"If you think this to be beyond you, and you feel your lives being threatened, abandon the gates and bring everyone down to the cellars."

"Sir Aleph…"

"This is as much as I am able to provide for you at this moment. If even this is not enough to pull us through, then I want you all to prioritize your lives."

"Yes sir!"

This time, he was able to contain his emotions. Aleph thought for a moment, before adding something else.

"I want this place to be sufficiently lit up. Use oil lamps, not the fuel for our weaponry. If you notice something strange, such as strangers walking amongst you, or a friend with wood like skin, call Lacey immediately."

Andrew nodded, looking like he did not trust himself to continue to speak. That suited Aleph just fine. With a final pat on his shoulder, he marched outside once again. He stepped forth into another group of harbingers, scattering them with a mighty sweep of his spear. That gave him time to scan the battlefield. 

There were sounds of battle just up ahead, but Aleph stopped himself from joining in. Whichever team it was, he just had to have faith that they could manage. He circled around, avoiding conflict from this point forward. He could not afford to be swept up in any other fight right now. Yes, his target was decided from the start. 

Finding the familiar figure, Aleph darted forward, using just his physical strength to carry him face to face with the enemy. He stopped at a familiar clearing, the single spot that even the harbingers avoided crossing. He was still a decent distance away, but it seems the creature had noticed his presence. The great yellow mound moved, and Aleph found himself once again faced with a very angry herald.

"Godling! How dare you stand before me!"

His previous shallow politeness was gone completely. Oblivion's human head spat curses at him while the lion one roared mightily in his direction. Aleph let it all wash over him, more concerned with the enemies' condition.

It seems that like him, the beast had fully recovered. Unfortunately, the enemy hadn't lost precious artifacts since the last time they fought. His long knives were gone, replaced by a decent sized sword he strapped to his belt. He didn't have time to make it magnetized, opting to sharpen it instead while borrowing one of Rayse's spears.

He wore his gauntlets now, having used almost all of his gravity crystals on bringing up the barrels from the cellar. He needed to conserve his strength, but something told him that this nightmare would never end without taking down the herald. He breathed deeply, mustering his strength for the battle to come.

"Enough of this, fiend." Aleph shook his head, answering Oblivion at last. He passed a hand through his head, converting the glasses he wore back into Iona's visor. He drew his sword and took a battle stance, Rayse's spear stuck on the ground beside him. He roused his mana at last, letting the power flow through him unobstructed.

"You have walked the earth for long enough. By my hand, you shall now be buried in it."