Forged Legacy

Chapter 141 - Not Enough

Harvey awoke with a start, sputtering as he felt a feather brushing against his lips. His head felt like it had been chopped open with a dull axe, but his body felt ok despite the burns.

“Thank the Lord you’re ok!” Cash gasped, retracting his wings and pushing up to his knees. “I wasn’t sure what happened. You just collapsed.”

Harvey curled up to a sitting position, rubbing his head as his eyes adjusted. Everything was bright. The redoubt was gone, either destroyed by the caustic ectoplasm left behind by the dead wraiths or having dissipated with time. He had no idea how long he’d been out, but was fairly certain he’d managed to get a concussion even with his high Vitality. “I must’ve passed out. Ran out of mental energy trying to infuse the bunker.”

“Let’s pray that was the only reason. Otherwise, It’d mean your soul was damaged.”

Beside them, Tyler began to wretch. Turning over, he threw up in the road. Steve soon did the same, both emptying all the contents of their stomach in between gasps for air. Seeing their plight, Cash placed one hand over each of them and began healing their bodies as best he could.

“Are you guys ok?” Harvey panicked.

Neither responded, only pained groans leaving their lips.

“Dad! Tyler! Come on guys, talk to me!” he begged, moving their faces to get a closer look at their eyes. Neither seemed to notice him, staring off into the middle distance as drool and bile leaked from the corner of their lips.

“Their eyes are dilated,” Harvey ranted. “What does that mean? What does that mean!”

“I… I don’t know. My healing only works on the body,” Cash stammered before frantically looking around. None of the tortured souls remained, and squads of angels were roaming the battlefield looting the bodies of dead beasts, healing the wounded, and recovering the dead.

“Oh! Diana!” Cash shouted. “Diana, we need help!”

A radiantly beautiful woman walked towards them, her pristine white robe cinched tight with a golden rope looking out of place amongst the chaotic battlefield. “Cash? Are you hurt? I don’t sense any wounds to your soul that you cannot recover on your own.”

“Not me. These two,” he said, indicating the two limp bodies gently convulsing on the ground.

“The faithful? I am sorry, but Heaven has very few capable of mending souls. I must save my essence for the angels.”

Harvey sobbed, tears dripping onto his father’s head as he cradled it in his arms. “For God’s sake! Heal them!”

“Excuse me?” she scoffed.

“DO IT!” Harvey roared, his aura billowing out of his body despite his own overtaxed soul. His vision went white, but not before he aimed his revolver right at the angel’s head. Through her aura, Harvey could sense she wasn’t weak, but her gentle nature shuddered before Harvey’s three imprints like a cornered animal.

“Harvey!” Cash barked, pushing his hand away before turning back to the angel. Harvey strained to keep her in his crosshairs, but his shaking hands were too tired to fight back. “Diana, their souls are still weak. It’s why they’re injured in the first place. Healing them will barely drain a powerful angel like you!”

The woman shuddered before taking a hesitant step towards them. Her hands glowed blue, and she touched both their foreheads. Slowly, their eyes sharpened. Tyler smiled sheepishly as clarity returned, clearly surprised to see such a beautiful angel watching over him.

“Th…thank you,” Tyler stammered.

“Was that so damn hard?” Harvey cried.

“Seriously Harvey! Sorry about him Diana, thank you for your help,” Cash effused.

Without a word, she skittered away.

“What happened?” Steve asked, extricating himself from Harvey’s grasp. “I feel like I just got hit by a truck.”

“We were overrun,” Cash lamented. “They sent creatures we weren’t prepared to fight.”

“I remember bits and pieces,” Tyler said. “What were those things?”

“And why the hell weren’t we prepared to fight them?” Harvey seethed.

[Try to cool down, Harvey. Just a little bit. Cash isn’t the villain here.]

You might be reading a stolen copy. Visit NovelBin for the authentic version.

He’s not, but so far he’s the only one of them I like. Even a little bit. Pious assholes. Too busy to help us when all we’re trying to do is save them from losing the war they clearly can’t win on their own.

[I agree. Believe me, I do. But you have to play this smart. They might be losing, but you can’t win on your own.]

Harvey had been staring at the floor, but turned to see the pained look in Cash’s eyes. There was a hint of admonishment in there. Probably because he pulled his gun on one of their healers. But, Harvey was happy to see some understanding of why he’d done it.

“Sorry,” Harvey muttered.

“I get it,” Cash assured. “I was freaking out too. Pointing a gun at her probably wasn’t the best option, but I get it.”

“What?” Tyler asked

“You’re welcome,” Harvey glared.

“One question at a time,” Cash interjected. “Those things we fought are called tortured souls. Demented creatures whose screams try to rip your soul to shreds the same way theirs were when the demons created them.”

“So sinners' souls really go to hell when they die?” Steve asked.

“Not in the way you’re thinking. None of us know what happens after death, but since Earth couldn’t see Heaven through the multiverse’s shroud, the Father’s Legacy was interpreted as something you had to die first to see,” Cash explained. “No, real tortured souls are created by a ritual where the demons corrupt the soul of a faithful, ripping it from their body before sending it back towards Heaven’s armies. Those were just replicas conjured from infernal essence.”

Harvey shuddered, imagining what kind of horrors would turn you into something like that. He’d felt their screams grating against his soul. How much pain had they endured for theirs to be ripped out?

“Normally, they’re pretty weak. You saw how easily our own creatures ripped them apart. If the war was still on even footing, those things would have never made it past our line,” Cash explained.

“But they have more essence than us,” Tyler realized.

“Exactly. They can field much larger armies than we can, overwhelming our forces to the point we angels need to step in.”

“And humans,” Harvey interrupted, unwilling to let that jab slip despite the heavy air between them.

“And humans,” Cash coughed. “The problem is. We don’t have enough silver bullets to kill them from a distance. Those things are just too expensive, and Hell knows that.”

“So… what? Are they just gonna send waves of those things until we run out of bodies to hold them back?” Steve asked.

“In some ways, trials like this are a game. There are a lot of different strategies. On Saturday, they sent a single, expensive creature supported by a horde of backup to hit one small spot hard and fast. Today, they sent a swarm to cover the entire front lines. We responded to both with the same composition, but there are some beasts that are better at killing tortured souls than others. It’s up to the Commander to tailor our army to the needs of the day.”

“That’s pretty hard to do when you’re already down a Lieutenant,” Steve muttered.

“If things keep going like this, we’ll be down two,” Cash grimaced. “The reason they’re hitting this spot so hard is because it’s close to the node being guarded by Lieutenant Renata. If we lose her…”

“We won’t,” Harvey said. “You guys might not have enough Silver bullets, but I can make as many as I need. My path might be all over the place, but right now that doesn’t matter. You tell me how to kill what’s coming, and I’ll make sure it dies.”

Harvey forced himself to his feet, his declaration spurning him forward until his body reminded him of the state he was in. His legs groaned in complaint as his vision went white again, and it took everything he had not to fall over. Cash sprang up and grabbed his shoulders, holding him steady until the sensation went away.

“Can you guys walk?” Cash asked, helping pull the others to their feet.

“Slowly,” Tyler responded, limping back towards the gates. Others were doing the same, leaving the wasteland and returning to the perfect suburban facade hiding just beyond those walls. Harvey wondered why the demons didn’t attack right then and there. With the state of Heaven’s soldiers, even a small contingent of demons could wreak havoc on the faithful living within. Apparently, they were content bleeding the angel’s dry, one drop at a time.

Most filed back into the underground bunkers where teleporters would take them back to Elysium, but their group chose to walk the eerily short distance back home. Harvey walked in the center, supporting his father and brother on either side. They occasionally stumbled, but Harvey was ready to catch them every time they did.

“I need to get back to my post at the hospital,” Cash said once they reached the driveway. “I’m not sure how much help I’ll be with the wounds from today's battle left, but I’ll do what I can.”

“You’re one of the good ones, Cash,” Harvey replied.

“I know you haven’t really seen it, but there’s a lot of us,” Cash smiled. “I’ll be back in the morning before the next battle. Steve, Tyler, if we see the enemies are a bad match for you, I’ll escort you back inside the walls. Otherwise, we’ll fight together and go out hunting afterwards.”

They all waved and walked through the front door. His mother was upon them the second the door latched closed, fussing over their wounds before helping them up the stairs and into bed.

“You guys can barely walk!” she fretted.

“We’ll be fine honey. The angels healed us,” Steve assured.

“After Harvey pulled a gun on them,” Tyler chuckled.

Cassandra looked like she was about to burst a blood vessel.

“Again. You’re welcome,” Harvey replied.

Brilliant light erupted from Tyler’s weave once he was safely tucked into bed. Harvey knew the System waited until the process wasn’t detrimental to your health. In this instance, that meant the moment his head hit the pillow. He’d only attacked one tortured soul, but the chasm between his own level and the monster’s pushed him all the way to Level 4. Steve was the same, meaning both would likely get their first Class Skill if they managed to help kill another beast tomorrow.

“Alright, Harvey. Your turn,” Cassandra said.

“No,” he refused. “I’ve got work to do.”

“Honey,” she complained.

“I’m fine,” Harvey assured. “Or I will be. We weren’t prepared today, and there’s a lot I need to get done before tomorrow.”

His mother stared at him, not saying anything for a long moment. Eventually, she sighed. “Okay. Let me know if you need anything. Please. I want to help.”

“Well, I am pretty hungry. Would you mind making me something to eat?”

“Of course! I’ll bring it out to the garage when it’s ready,” she beamed.

“Just knock, please. It’s about to get pretty hot out there.”