Legends of the Stars

Chapter 22: Twilight of the Gods

Chapter 22

Twilight of the Gods

July 22th, 2019 AE, 1:25 PM

With a bellowing battle cry, the Astrean Army charged towards the demons that flooded the streets. Jaden and Revan sprinted ahead of the crowd, neck and neck like runners at a track meet. Their hearts pounding through their chests as their fear and adrenaline drove them closer to the demons. They were now speeding trains ready to run right over Kaiser's army. After Jaden made the first strike, both sides collided halfway down the street in an explosion of bloody combat.

While each soldier fought back a demon, the Champions took down dozens of them on their own. Jaden and Revan blew through the beasts as they sliced them with their supercharged swords. Jesse shot swarms of them dead with his revolvers, adding to the cloud of gunpowder that permeated the air. Kaylah swiped her spear around herself like a propellor as it sliced through the monsters' throats. With Darek bashing their bodies into the ground with his enormous blade, the Champions had already taken down hundreds of demons in less than a minute.

Back at Crucis Circle, Astra focused all of her energy into her summoning spell. Knights of Astrelm were gathered in front of her, cutting down any demons that came too close. As the Princess focused on her invocation, she tried to block out the sounds of demons and fired gunshots.

"Oh gods of Aeos, give me strength."

With her prayers, the four Crystal Stars appeared around her, hovering round and round like hands on a clock. The almighty stones radiated with divine power that resonated with her own, surrounding her in a halo of golden light.

As the Champions continued to hold back the monsters, two red Sarclopses appeared in front of them, carrying blades the size of tree trunks. With a single swing, they each swatted away handfuls of soldiers like mere insects. In response, Jaden waved twin beams of light from his swords, mowing down the other demons blocking the way. He then hopped onto the roof of a wrecked bus and rushed towards one of the red giants. Leaping over its head, Jaden drove his blades into its eye, causing the beast to fall on its back.

"Darek, sword!" Revan shouted with his arm stretched out.

Hearing his partner, Darek hurled his weapon at the Prince. Catching the blade in midair, Revan imbued it with his armor's magic as he leaped towards the second Sarclops. He then drove it into the beast's eye like an ax, releasing a lethal shockwave that burned through its body. With the two giants dead and their path clear, the Champions advanced further into the heart of the city.

"How much farther until we reach the Citadel?!" Jaden asked out loud.

"About five more blocks!" Revan answered. "We're almost there..."

Revan was suddenly cut off by the sound of the street exploding in front of him. The Champions took cover behind some rubble as beams of light came raining down from above. Jaden looked past the smoke to see a couple of Prometheans firing at them from turrets on the rooftops.

"Astra, how much longer?!" Revan shouted into his communicator.

"I'm going as fast as I can!" Astra answered, trying to maintain her focus.

"Well, we need you to go faster!"

All the way down the road, large mechanical towers began rising up into the skyline. As these monoliths elevated themselves, their steel maws opened and exhaled a swarm of bullets. These were the hives for the Kaiser's Promethean Army.

Out from the towers emerged waves of corrupted automatons firing at the Champions from the other end of the street. Some of them were even outfitted with jetpacks, so they were firing their guns from high in the air. Even Promethean Giants appeared from these outposts, shooting at us with their deadly lasers.