Forged Legacy

Chapter 160 - Hallowed Protector

“Wait! Wait!” Cash shouted in the distance.

“Stand down,” Celeste hissed. “I know these humans.”

Cash forced his way through the crowd, helping them each to their feet while flooding them with healing light.

“What happened? Are you guys ok?” Cash asked.

Harvey grimaced as he took a stumbling step forward. Cash was tending to the others, relying on Harvey’s higher stats to tide him over.

“Well… the catapult worked like a charm. We managed to launch two bombs over the wall and a third into a cluster of brimfiends before we got overrun,” Harvey explained.

“Brimfiends who are now firing upon our walls,” Celeste barked.

“Give it a rest, lady. They’re barely F-Grade,” Harvey waved her off, uncorking a health potion and tipping it back. He could easily wait for Cash, but wanted to be ready in case Celeste decided he needed a bit more corporal punishment. Deep down, he knew that pushing her buttons like this wasn’t helping anyone, but he couldn’t help himself.

“If they’re so inconsequential, why did you fly right over our walls to escape them? You’re lucky our snipers recognized your armor and refrained from shooting you down.”

“Because there are only three of us. Two humans and a gilded willing to do what you and your hundreds of angels wouldn’t. Maybe now that we’ve hand-delivered them to your snipers, they’ll get off their asses and do something!”

“Gah!” Steve shuddered, clutching at his chest where his Mark had evolved. Now that he’d been healed, the System felt compelled to deliver all the levels he’d gained during their rampage.

Cash barely managed to catch him before Tyler also collapsed, bringing all three to their knees. He, too, was gaining a burst of levels all at once. Harvey expected the glow he’d seen around Tyler’s legs were the beginnings of a Mark, but the formation had been interrupted by their father. It reminded Harvey of the subtle heat he’d felt on the back of his neck back when he fixed the grindstone back in the early days of his own trial. At that point, he’d been on the path towards the Born Innovator Mark, but he hadn’t quite earned it yet.

“Steve? Tyler? Are you ok? Harvey, what the hell?” Cash asked.

Harvey just shrugged. “We killed a lot of brimfiends.”

He could feel the storm clouds of essence gathering within his own weave, suggesting he had a few levels of his own to incorporate, but it was like his body knew he wasn’t safe around Celeste.

Maybe that was his own fault for mouthing off. Turning his gaze, he was surprised to see a complicated look on her face. He’d only ever seen anger or indifference in her azure eyes, but now he saw something else.

Intrigue.

I don’t know if I like that.

[Me neither,] Julius agreed.

“You, humans. What are your names?”

“They…” Harvey began before Celeste put a finger in his face.

“I didn’t ask you,” she spat.

The radiance of gaining multiple levels at once was just beginning to fade, and both Steve and Tyler sat panting with their hands in the grass. Celeste gave them a moment to catch their breath, her hand still hovering in front of Harvey’s mouth.

“Steven, ma'am,” Steve groaned. “Steven Thorne. These are my sons, Harvey and Tyler.”

“I would implore you to do a better job disciplining your children, Steven,” she replied. “How many levels did you just gain?’

“Three. My Class is now Level 18,” he answered.

Harvey was surprised to hear the short fight had netted him that much. He’d killed quite a few of the stunned fiends, but the level gap between them was closing fast. They were some of the weakest creatures Hell sent their way, likely due to how expensive the Gluthogs all around Level 60 had to be, but that also meant they were great for power-leveling.

“Only level 18? And you already have an Imprint?” she asked, seeming genuinely shocked.

“I just got it,” he nodded. “I don’t even know what it’s called.”

Celeste turned to Tyler. “What about you? How many levels?”

“Five,” he answered, his tone not as respectful as their father’s, but deferential nonetheless.

“Five levels in a matter of hours,” she mused, pacing back and forth in front of them. “You might have a point, gilded. Maybe we should be training the faithful to fight.”

That’s what I was worried about, he sighed.

“Not if you’re going to treat them the same way you did the others,” Harvey replied.

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“Oh? And how exactly did I treat them?” she asked indignantly.

“Harvey,” Cash warned.

“You want to know how Cash and I met, Celeste?” Harvey asked.

“Not particularly,” she began.

“I had just arrived in the trial after winning my own when I stumbled upon an angel surrounded by demons, sinners, and dead bodies. He was fighting with everything he had, but the odds were stacked against him. Without me stepping in to kill the sinners and help him finish off the demon, he’d be dead,” Harvey explained.

“So you managed to do at least one thing right,” she replied.

“Do you know why he was out there? Why he was alone?” Harvey asked.

“Enlighten me,” she grinned.

“You know exactly what happened,” Cash swore. “I was out training the first batch of faithful soldiers when we were ambushed. The Templars and Sentinel, who were supposed to protect us, ran with their wings between their legs and left us all for dead. I gave you the report right after it happened!”

Celeste paused, turning to face Cash with her head hanging slightly lower. “Now that you mention it, I do remember this story. Those angels were found and punished for leaving you behind, Cassius.”

“See! That right there is the problem,” Harvey exclaimed. “You only care about Cash, not the faithful those same angels promised to protect. My father and brother are growing fast, yes, but only because they have me and the only decent angel I’ve ever met watching over them.”

Celeste’s eyes turned to daggers once more, growing larger as she stomped towards him and got in his face. She smelled sweet, like butterscotch.

[Focus!]

“I’m sorry, but I don’t have time to care about every life lost in this war. We’re losing far too many at the moment.”

“Finally, something we agree on,” Harvey replied. “Listen, our plan works. If we give Hell free rein to keep building their army, things are only going to get worse.”

She sighed, turning on her heels and stomping away. Her long, blonde braid danced behind her as she walked. He found himself staring at it, the spell only breaking when she whipped around to face him and threw her hands in the air.

“What do you want from me? And don’t say charging our army into that wall because it’s a suicide mission.”

“Not much. Just a few dozen angels to cover us while we bombard the enemy. I know it might not feel like it, but we’re on the same side. All I’m trying to do is thin their ranks today so your plan has a better shot tomorrow.”

“Fine. Get them two rifle squads and a sniper unit. Cash, they report only to you. I can’t expect them to take orders from a human.”

Harvey wanted to say something snarky, but held his tongue when Julius screamed for him to take whatever he could get. The two armored deputies who’d been watching from the side both nodded before jogging away. The rest of the small party of onlookers also dispersed as Celeste turned her back on them. Cash was busy helping Tyler and Steve to their feet, and both seemed much better now that their bodies and weaves had been given a moment to heal.

“You'd better be careful,” Cash warned. “I’ve never seen anyone stand up to her like that.”

“Worked out, didn’t it? And now we have reinforcements,” Harvey shrugged, releasing all the pent-up tension in his shoulders as he fully exhaled for the first time since the battle began. Brilliant light shone out of his weave, briefly illuminating every hidden vein and sigil that had melded back into his skin with his evolution to F Grade.

His short rampage had only netted him two levels, even though his weapons had killed more brimfiends, mortarhorns, and gluthogs than the other two combined. Still, it pushed his Class up to level 49 and his race up to level 47. The process was beginning to ease the higher level he got, becoming more invigorating than painful. He figured it was his body finally adapting to the fundamental changes his weave provided, but he wasn’t exactly sure.

“We’re going back out there? Already?” Steve asked.

“Of course we are!” Harvey joked. “And I’m expecting you to do most of the heavy lifting now that you’ve got that Imprint. Seriously, how the hell is your Legacy so deep already?”

Cash’s reaction proved just how rare it was. His annoyance with Harvey vanished as his eyes turned toward Steve.

“I’m more concerned about what happened to you,” Steve said, turning a harsh gaze on Tyler. “What the heck were you thinking?”

“I… I don’t know,” he stammered. “At first, I kept fighting because I didn’t really see them as a threat. Then I got surrounded, and I figured all I could do was try and fight my way out.”

“I wouldn’t call that fighting your way out,” Harvey replied. “You just wouldn’t stop. Could you hear us yelling at you?”

“Kind of? I don’t know. I was a little busy at the time,” Tyler blushed.

“Well, I don’t want you to ever scare me like that again,” Steve reprimanded.

“Actually,” Harvey interrupted. “Tyler was right about to get a Mark when you dove in and stole the opportunity to get your Imprint. I agree that going berserk like that probably isn’t good for his health, but the System seems to believe it’s part of his nature.”

“Really?” Cash marveled. “Such a strange family… Well, plenty of people make good use of berserking skills, but there are definitely right and wrong ways to go about them. The good ones focus on momentum rather than losing your mind to rage in exchange for power.”

“My friend Hannah’s Class does something similar. Momentum made her skills a lot stronger than most in our trial.”

Tyler shrugged, still unable to look his dad in the eyes. “Well, I’m Level 20 now. Maybe you guys can help me make a good one.”

“One that won’t get you killed while ignoring your father,” Steve added.

“Yeah… sure,” Tyler agreed.

They all stood in silence, eyes wandering over the empty soccer field as even Cash avoided the dreaded glare of an angry father. The alarm bells had stopped ringing, and people were slowly returning to the streets.

“Ahem,” Harvey cleared his throat. “On another note, you need to show us your Imprint, Dad.”

“It’s on my chest, underneath my armor. I’m not going shirtless in the middle of the park,” Steve replied.

“Just pull up the screen,” Harvey laughed. “It will show us the tattoo.”

The translucent blue window appeared, and they all gathered around to read what the Mark of the Devout had turned into.

Imprint | Hallowed Protector:

Faith is easy in times of peace, but true devotion is measured by what one is willing to sacrifice when darkness closes in. Your unwavering belief that it is your duty to shield those entrusted to your care has forged a holy resolve capable of standing against overwhelming evil. Continue bearing the burdens others cannot, and let your conviction become a sanctuary no darkness can overcome.

Effect: +15% Vitality, +10% Willpower.