[The Dead Apostle is here in the school.] I sent to Lancer without hesitation.
[I am returning right away.]
[No, finish the Ghouls. That's just as important. I can…manage for awhile.]
[Master, this is an unwise decision.]
I frowned. [If the ghouls rampage, they can make more ghouls. If it gets bad enough, my city will get condemned by either the Church or the Mages Association. If worse comes to worse, I have the command seal to summon you back.]
She was silent for a moment.
[I will endeavor to destroy these monsters as quickly as possible.]
From the videos I saw, there were a lot, and they were scattered. It was going to take her more than a few minutes to do so, not to mention, it's pretty far away from us.
The only reason I was calm was due to the training I've had from my parents to control my emotions.
My heartbeat was already skyrocketing. I felt the hairs on my arms stand up, and anxiousness set in pretty quickly.
I was firmly stuck between a rock and a hard place with few good options.
I was also furious.
"Hey Sparky, do you have a pocketknife on you?" I kept my voice very quiet.
I had barely paid attention to him when I sat down, and he to me, but at this point, I was happy that Greg thought they were friends.
Sparky just shrugged, reached into his pocket, and let me borrow it.
Immediately, I started carving into the table.
"Freddie! You're going to get in trouble." Greg whispered.
I was startled as a screech was heard, but it was the principal, Mrs. Blackwell, adjusting the microphone on the stage.
"Hello, children!" It wasn't her who spoke, but the Dead Apostle who looked over the crowd. Everyone perked up because there was an apparently homeless man addressing the whole school next to the principal. "Now, I know you're all wondering why you're here. Congratulations, you all will be involved in something wonderful. My ascent to a greater level, to become something greater!"
He was grandiose about it.
I honestly paused for a second myself because I was taken aback by his tone and mannerisms.
He looked around, furrowing his brow. "I thought I would get a reaction. How about this?" He swiped his hand, and Principal Blackwell's head went rolling across the ground, blood splattering everywhere.
There was a single beat as everyone processed what just happened and before the first scream. Then a table was knocked over, and everyone immediately started panicking, trying to run away.
"Cape!"
Several others bolted to the doors smartly, but they were locked by key, and the other 'staff' just stood there blankly.
At Winslow, everyone knew how to survive in a situation like this: run.
But there happened to be nowhere to run.
"Now, now, calm down. If you just – "
A gunshot rang out; it landed right on the Dead Apostle's chest, making everyone immediately stop their chaos.
The one who shot him looked like an ABB gang member. "You're breaking the rules, you stupid bastard! Do you think the Dragon will let you off!?"
The Dead Apostle looked down at the gunshot wound and clenched his jaw. "How impolite."
The wound began to heal.
Did he cast a Curse of Regression that quickly and without a need for an Aria?
I didn't even catch it.
He jumped off the stage and moved. He was very fast; I barely caught him out of the corner of my eye as he impaled his hand through the gunman's chest.
The corpse and blood that sprayed from it sent another frenzy through everyone in the cafeteria. Someone took a loose chair and threw it at a window in hopes of breaking it, but it merely bounced off.
"Now, now, children." He paused, and his eyes glowed. "Stop!" He roared, and it reverberated through the building.
I felt the wave of magical energy wash over me.
Mystic Eyes of Enchantment.
It was a very common ability of Dead Apostles.
Everyone, while not hypnotized, froze in place at his words.
Though it felt really crude? I don't think he even noticed that I wasn't affected.
"Now that I have your attention. Behave, and things will be…less messy. And don't bother trying to call for help; your dear principal seems to have had a signal blocker in her office that she was more than willing to let me use."
I'm fairly sure a signal blocker is illegal unless it's explicitly approved by authorities.
I was almost done.
"Good children." He smiled disgustingly. "Don't worry, your assistance is your honor. You will help me ascend far higher than you could imagine."
A large-scale sacrificial ritual? To use an entire school, that's the only thing I could think of.
But he has to be out of his mind to do something like this. This is the kind of shit that has you on everyone's shitlist. The Church will maybe even send Burial Agents if it becomes public.
The Queen of the Clock Tower may even make a move for a low-level Dead Apostle like him, just to make a statement.
What the hell is he thinking?
Out of the corner of my eye again, I saw something move.
There was a faint black shadowy mist, and I recognized a silhouette moving through the wall. It was Shadow Stalker, one of the Wards. More specifically, it was Sophia Hess, the school's resident bully.
Her costume wasn't as 'professional' as the one she wears when working, it seems. But you can't fault her for that specific detail in a scenario like this.
She apparently had snuck away once she had things to think about and presumably grabbed a bag she stashed at the school to arm herself.
Immediately, she fired a crossbow bolt that hit the Dead Apostle's shoulder.
He also was genuinely surprised to see her.
That surprise turned to elation.
"A Parahuman!" He exclaimed. "Excellent, excellent!"
"Die, you bastard!" Shadow Stalker's voice came through as she shot another bolt at him.
He casually dodged it and took out the one in his shoulder and tossed it away.
He lunged at her, but she turned into her shadowy state as he passed right through her as she slid across the ground and took out a small hand crossbow from under her cloak and fired it at his back.
He barely even twitched.
Shadow Stalker had to turn into her shadow state again to avoid him trying to grab her, but the game of cat and mouse slowly ended as Shadow Stalker ran out of crossbow bolts.
That, and the Dead Apostle was much faster than her.
One last bolt went flying past his head, and he caught her arm right as her shadowy state ended.
"Let me go, you fucker!" She tried to kick him, but he just caught her leg. "You're fucking dead, you hear me!?"
"I can't have you running away; your powers are troublesome to chase you back down. But don't worry, you're also very valuable. This will hurt a bit, unfortunately." He ignored her words and stabbed his hand into her lower stomach, then he stomped on one of her legs.
It sounded painful.
She screamed out as he pulled his hand free. Everyone could see the blood dripping down her stomach and the hole she now had in her abdomen, and her leg was bent in a way it shouldn't be.
Without hesitation, he also grabbed her mask and pulled it off.
"How curious." He said simply, tossing it to the side before dropping her to the ground.
Plenty of the kids gasped in surprise at her reveal.
"Y-you fucker!" Sophia, to her credit, cursed him in that state. "You're fucking dead; you just unmasked a Ward! You're going to get a kill order, and Legend is going to shove his lasers up your ass." She coughed out blood but still glared at him.
"My loyal servants, come detain this one." He continued to ignore her as he snapped his fingers, and the controlled staff members came over and aggressively pinned Sophia down despite her wound.
Perhaps I should thank Sophia later; she did buy me enough time.
"Axis, Turn." I intoned, and my circuits flared to life.
Just, ever so slightly, I saw the Dead Apostle's nose twitch.
And he turned his head in my direction.
I used the pocketknife to stab my hand quickly and slapped the bloody flesh against the table.
Underneath my hand were sigils of the Biblical variety, with the Four Archangels representing the Four Directions carved into the table.
Subtlety and silence were now gone.
I could simply sit still and let the Dead Apostle kill some more people and let Lancer clean up her end first before summoning her without revealing myself.
It would be simple, really.
But this was my city.
This was my responsibility.
"Purge me with Hyssop, and I shall be clean;
Wash me, and I shall be whiter than snow."
My magical energy surged.
"Make me to hear joy and gladness;
That the bones which Thou hast broken may rejoice."
He saw me, and his eyes widened. Maybe excitement, but there seemed to be a slight panic. I was concerned that he came to this school because I was discovered, as small a chance as that was. But from his reaction, I could easily guess he had no idea I was here until now.
"Hide Thy face from my sins;
And blot out all mine iniquities."
My words carried across the building, reverberating within the steel and wood of its construction as a faint light flickered across the tile and roof.
The Dead Apostle picked up his pace as he made his way towards me, unceremoniously throwing any obstacles between us to the side.
He casually lifted a table and threw it, hitting several people. Amidst the screams that followed, he shot off the ground at me.
"Create in me a clean heart, O God;
And renew a right spirit within me."
He jumped at me, and just as he was about to grab my neck, I leaned back, narrowly dodging it, and I used my leg to kick him over me, sending him into the wall.
My heart was racing as I quickly continued.
"Cast me not away from Thy presence;
And take not Thy Holy Spirit from me."
It barely slowed him down as I narrowly dodged his grasp again, but then I felt a sharp pain in my throat as his nails extended from his hand and managed to stab into my thigh."
"Restore unto me the joy of Thy Salvation;
And uphold me with – "
He grabbed me by the throat and lifted me up, slamming me into the wall.
"You're a—"
I reeled my head back and headbutted him while casting Reinforcement on myself hastily.
He let out a startled gasp, reeling back as his grip loosened.
"And uphold me with Thy free Spirit!"
"Amen."
The sigils on the table burst out with light as it used my blood as the final catalyst to actualize. The faint light crawled across the ground and up every corner of the walls, covering everything within the building.
Those who had been hypnotized with their eyes glazed over suddenly snapped back.
The Dead Apostle screamed.
A blood-curdling scream that could be felt all the way from his soul.
It was a prayer to sanctify a building.
He was now—at least temporarily—on Holy Ground.
And his body began to burn. He was already running around during the day, weakening him noticeably, and now he was standing on holy ground, which only further began to sear him apart.
He fell to the ground, rolling around with every scream before he leapt up and jumped through the window.
I slid to the ground against the wall, gasping for breath.
Everything happened so quickly, and I was mostly moving on instinct. My heart was still racing, and it felt like it was going to burst from my chest.
The adrenaline at least made it so my leg wasn't as debilitating as it probably should be.
Unfortunately, my bastardized attempt at sanctification wouldn't last more than an hour, if I was lucky. And that was if someone wasn't going to try and bust it down from the other side.
The large room was eerily silent.
I know the Dead Apostle had used his Mystic Eyes to calm the chaos, but I could feel all their eyes turned to me.
The unpleasant feeling was pushed down as I stumbled to my previous seat.
Greg stared at me, and so did Sparky.
I reached into my bag and pulled out my stuff.
My shoes that had runes on them. I carefully put them on, tying the laces tight. I took off my hoodie, tossing it to the side because it would get in the way—intentionally being a size too big.
I found the leather gloves I kept in my 'just in case' supplies.
Just like the shoes, they had a rune sewn in them.
The Black Keys I kept; I grabbed those too.
I looked at Greg, who was looking at me like I had three heads.
Sorry, Greg, I need you.
Awkwardly, I grabbed Greg; hearing him softly yelp, I unfastened his belt.
I was fully aware of how this looked, and I didn't have time to care.
I pulled it off quickly, then wrapped it around the wound on my leg and pulled it tightly to stop as much blood loss as possible.
"Stay inside." I grabbed Greg's shoulder, making sure he heard me. Though I said it loud enough that I'm pretty sure everyone heard me. "You'll be safe inside, okay?" He didn't respond, but I said it firmly and directly enough that Greg should understand.
Family was important.
At the very least, I would make sure Greg didn't get hurt, for his parents' sake too.
I corrected my hastily cast Reinforcement to do it properly.
With a breath out and a breath in, I cast it as much as I could over my body.
I walked to the exit and kicked the door nearly off its hinges, not caring to be meticulous about undoing the lock or finding the key.
A 'physical' barrier like this meant absolutely nothing when it came to protection.
I used my teeth to pull my gloves on tightly and clenched my hands to get a feel for them.
The Dead Apostle was just getting up after rolling around on the ground outside.
The effects of standing on consecrated ground for a Dead Apostle of his level wore off quickly, but I'm sure it weakened him a bit even if he wasn't screaming in pain anymore.
I doubt every student in the school made it to the cafeteria, so someone must have called for help, somehow.
So, I didn't need to win; I just needed to make him lose.
Either by Lancer or a SWAT team arriving to scare him off.
"You– " He rasped.
I responded just as Bazett taught me. "Fehu," the rune under my right foot, actualized, and I stomped against the ground. It increased my speed several times for a brief moment, and my knee slammed right into his face.
His body jerked backwards from the impact as blood sprayed from his nose and mouth. I touched the ground and grabbed his arm, pivoting, and using the momentum to throw him over my shoulder into the wall.
Talking wasn't a free action.
[Line break]
[I'm engaging the Dead Apostle.] I told Lancer.
She didn't respond, and I didn't expect her to.
She knew as well as I did that I didn't have the capacity to carry on or recognize a conversation happening while I was fighting.
I knew the next time I heard from her; I wouldn't have to hesitate if I were in a bad spot.
I was happy the courtyard outside the cafeteria was rather large. It was a huge mess of littering and graffiti on the walls, but for the first time, I was genuinely happy to be here.
The bricks from the caved-in wall moved.
I took a stance.
Left foot forward, right foot back.
Followed by the left fist extended first and right fist back.
I turned my body to minimize my surface area.
The Dead Apostle burst out of the rubble; the faint red glow of his eyes gleamed through the dust as I jerked my head ever so slightly to the right.
His elongated nails passed by, barely missing me, but still cutting across my cheek and nicking my ear. Even several strands of hair went floating off as his spear-like hand passed by my head.
My heart pounded in my chest as I narrowly avoided death.
But this was exactly what I had trained for, had beaten into me, by Bazett.
One step forward with my right foot.
I stomped on the ground as it echoed across the courtyard.
"Uruz" The Rune stitched onto the back of my left glove glowed bright as I threw one of my most practiced punches, a cross counter.
Using his own forward momentum, stepping into it, and actualizing the Rune on my glove to increase my strength severalfold for a split second.
My fist landed on his jaw, and I felt it crack and shatter.
His head jerked and twisted unnaturally from the force.
His feet left the ground, and the air exploded, and his body went shooting through a trash can and shattered a stone bench until he bounced against the ground and hit a metal pole.
The metal pole that was supporting an overhead pavilion had caved in, and the top shook before collapsing on top of him as well.
I let out a breath.
From a pure 'strength' standpoint, that was the most I could do.
Reinforcement, Uruz, to enhance my strength for that strike, and I even calculated his own momentum to use against him as he leapt at me.
The Rune on the back of my glove burned.
These weren't my normal gloves; they were much cheaper, meaning the materials couldn't withstand the continued use.
I could feel the Rune burning into my skin from the use, the faint heat radiating off it after the first use.
The material was already starting to fray around the edges. I had maybe one more use of it before my glove would become completely unusable.
The Dead Apostle let out a noise that sounded like anger as the collapsed pavilion was torn apart and pushed away.
His shattered jaw visibly healed; his head was also forcibly corrected by some invisible force.
Did he cast the Curse of Restoration again?
Once more, I didn't notice it.
He must be an expert in using that spell.
It wasn't something I was familiar with; while we had plenty of curses in our archives, I never touched them much. And the Curse of Restoration was basically the bread and butter for a Dead Apostle.
As a technically non-living entity, normal healing methods generally don't work. A literal Curse that 'heals' is what they generally have to use, and it forcibly restores their body to a 'fixed' state.
For a living being, though, it can be just as debilitating as the wounds you're suffering from.
My hand trembled; it felt like I had punched a steel plate. I think I broke some smaller bones in my hand on that.
I didn't immediately charge in for a follow-up.
My physical abilities were a clear notch below his as a Dead Apostle. Bazett taught me that aggressiveness is a good strategy for experienced Enforcers, but for the inexperienced it can lead to easy openings to exploit.
Even my first stance was meant to take advantage of the Dead Apostle's overconfidence. The same trick wouldn't work twice; I had tried my best to get a good blow on him, but it seems like he healed all the damage easily.
Though, I did manage to draw a bit of blood, which is bad for him.
I needed to be ready for what spells he would cast. Frankly, I couldn't be aggressive, because I needed to be ready to turn around and run if needed.
What's his Thaumaturgical specialty?
What preparations had he made?
Are there any Bounded Fields around?
There were a lot of questions that made me hesitate to immediately follow up.
So, the wait-and-see approach it was.
He was angry; that was both good and bad. An angry opponent made mistakes, but an angry opponent also came with the caveat that they were more than willing to gouge my stomach open at their own expense.
I shifted my weight onto my back foot and momentarily paused, and my expression turned into a frown.
My right shoe was about the same as my left glove. The material was fraying, and it wouldn't last much longer after using it as a medium to cast a Rune.
At this moment, I could tell he was taking it more seriously.
His arrogance had been curbed, and he wasn't going to look down on me anymore.
Half a step back.
He hand-swiped the space a hair's breath in front of me, leaping at me from where he was a moment before.
I swung my elbow at his face, but he caught it and stabbed at me with his long and sharp nails. I twisted my body to avoid it as best as I could, but he still caught part of my chest, slicing up my shirt and digging into my flesh.
I grit my teeth. "Load." I intoned; Magical Circles swirled around my free hand as I pressed it against his chest. "Trajectory set—Compress, Sun, release."
I fired several Magic Bullets, point blank, through his chest.
The visceral reaction was immediate; his flesh, bone, and organs were blown apart as my Magic Bullets tore through him and into the side of the school, shattering the brick and concrete on impact.
I didn't know if that was enough even as his body stumbled backwards and his eyes rolled back.
I jumped up, wrapping my legs around his arm that still held my wrist in his grasp, and I twisted it, hearing the confirmation of a broken bone as he planted his face into the ground.
I rolled over him to thoroughly snap it and break free from him, pushing myself up a few feet away and catching my breath.
Bazett said that Dead Apostles were hard to really put down.
It wasn't always a matter of destroying the heart, cutting the head off, or destroying parts of their body.
And this one definitely lived up to that kind of reputation.
He stood back up again, gasping as he was, but I could see his flesh knitting itself back together.
The holes in him I blew open, the flesh grotesquely reconnected and regenerated. His broken and snapped arm jerked and realigned itself.
"I knew it; you're a wizard! Fantastic! To think I'd run into one of you in a backwards place like this!" The Dead Apostle opened his mouth.
My brain came to a screeching halt.
Not from the happiness in his voice; that was certainly concerning.
But what he called me.
"Did you just call me a Wizard?"
The Dead Apostle frowned as I responded. There was a look of annoyance, for some reason. Like a flash of disdain, but I don't think it was specifically directed at me.
"You're a Magic user." He smiled still.
And it wasn't lost on me that he had ignored everyone else before but actually responded to me directly.
I couldn't help but have my eyes widen, because just as he said that, everything slotted in place.
Was he…not a Magus!?
"Are you just a random guy that got turned into a Dead Apostle?" I blurted out, knowing full well that talking was frowned upon in combat. "Are you even capable of casting any spells?!"
It suddenly made sense.
Why were there no Bounded Fields anywhere, not even at his safe houses or experiments around the city? Or why I hadn't sensed him casting the Curse of Regeneration. Or his shitty use of his Mystic Eyes. And a million other small things that made me question what the fuck was wrong with his head. And he hadn't even used any noticeable spells so far in our fight.
He's not even a fucking Magus!
No one would call me a Wizard. Nor would they call what I was doing as Magic in this context.
From the flash of anger across his face, I'm one hundred percent sure I hit the nail on the head.
He's a random fucking mundane person who got turned into a Dead Apostle, and he's been stumbling around trying to figure out how to be a vampire so far.
He charged at me again.
I quickly took another stance, dodging a swipe of his. Despite not being a proper Magus, his physical abilities were superhuman, and he could easily skewer me if I let my guard down.
He was still faster and stronger than me.
I ducked and dashed to the side as he was pushing me towards a dead end; literally, my back was nearly to a wall before I got away.
I slid across the concrete ground as another of his extended claws scraped against one of the metallic eating tables out here in the courtyard. It was torn to shreds with barely any resistance to be had.
My stance switched; instead of a boxer-esque anticipation, I switched to a different martial art Bazett taught me, focused on counter attacks.
Both my hands remained open as I held them up in front of my chest, my right foot sliding back behind me.
He grabbed a piece of the metal table, throwing it at me.
I breathed out and took a step forward, using my palm to slap it away. But my eyes didn't leave him as he immediately jumped at me again as I expected him to.
At this point, I could tell he had very little actual combat experience. Maybe even I had more than him with all the sparring I've had in my life.
His right hand reached out to me at my throat in a grabbing motion.
I anticipated this.
"Uruz." My left glove seared hot, and the seams burst as I cast it one last time.
My left palm hit just below the elbow of his extended hand, and my right—the "Sowilo" The Rune on my right glove—actualized as well.
My left-hand palm strike shattered his elbow; my right hand ignited in Sun's Fire, and I grabbed onto his limp arm as I sent the flames into it.
His arm bubbled and ignited. His blood was set aflame as it climbed up his arm. Sowilo wasn't just representative of the sun and fire, but of cleansing.
The Dead Apostles were undead.
The Dead Apostle screamed again.
Both my gloves literally crumbled away on my hands, but I paid no attention to it.
"Fehu." I activated the Rune on my right shoe again, one last time, as the rubber on the sole noticeably deteriorated and crumbled.
Instead of using it as a burst of speed to move, I used it to send my knee upwards into his chin in one swift action.
However, before it could connect, I felt something wrap around my leg, stopping me.
His right arm was unnaturally wrapped around me, like a coiled snake. As if no bones existed inside of it.
Before I could even think of a response, he lifted me up and swung me through the air like a discarded toy.
My senses became jumbled, and vertigo set in as I went flying through the air until I finally hit something solid.
I felt the shock through my body, even with the adrenaline running through me.
The pain was immediate, but I was used to pain.
It took me a moment to reorient myself, and I could see that I had crashed into the cafeteria again, nearly collapsing one of the side walls.
That was going to leave a spot.
On me.
My back was going to be one giant bruise.
I looked up, and the Dead Apostles' shrieks still echoed across the courtyard, so that gave me a tiny bit of breathing room.
But to my surprise, he ripped his own arm off completely before the fires could climb further onto his body.
His bloody stump trembled and spasmed as the missing arm began to regrow in real time.
What the fuck is that?
I may have missed an important detail, understandably, considering I was fighting for my life. But it was a detail that really shouldn't have been missed when I realized he wasn't a Magus.
How was he healing?
I came to one logical conclusion.
"You're a Parahuman." I looked at him in genuine surprise.
He snapped his head at me, furious, maddened.
How?
Could Parahumans be Dead Apostles!?
Why had I never heard of this before?
Regardless, it needed to die.
His powers were some kind of flesh manipulations that lent themselves to self-healing, if I had to guess. The way it distorted its own to wrap around my leg.
"I'm not one of those mortal creatures!" The Dead Apostle let out a roar. "I am more! I am better! They're nothing but food to feed my ascension!"
His chest bulged and his flesh twisted, grotesque and disgusting; hands began to push out, growing longer and longer until they were fully formed arms.
And without a word of warning, they shot at me like bullets, elongating dozens of feet in the blink of an eye.
The first one pierced right through the side of the building, as if the brick, stone, and steel meant nothing.
I had to dive to the side and roll across the ground as two more had narrowly missed me.
The next has sliced my arm, and the fourth has slashed across my midsection.
There were many more, all coming at me.
My Circuits were beginning to burn slightly, the dull ache increasing due to the frequency of spellcasting and continued usage.
But I had no time to consider that either.
My eyes strained as I focused; my tools were running out, so I took a risk.
"Time Alter – Double Accel."
Blood flowed out of my nose and down my eyes.
My brain felt like it had been set on fire.
But the world around me slowed.
I barely had time to study this spell the past week, and it was a hurried cast. I knew I hurt myself casting it, but I was in a tight spot.
I took a step forward; his extended arm was about to reach me. I carefully sidestepped it as it passed in nearly slow motion.
And the next, I dodged with ease.
Several times, I avoided all of them.
Every action of his, every twitch, and movement, I could see it clearly and react accordingly.
I tilted my head as one more claw passed by and narrowly missed my face by precise calculation. In this state, I could understand why the Emiya Crest was such a sought after item by the Clock Tower.
However, I felt the Spell start to waver as the world around me flickered, so I charged at him, grabbing a Black Key from my belt.
I injected Magical Energy into it, and the red 'hilt' of it vibrated, and the Conceptual Blade emerged.
I wasn't exactly skilled at the 'techniques' that came with their use, the way they're meant to be 'thrown' between the knuckles. At best, I could 'aim' it as I threw, but the stopping power wasn't anywhere near that of a seasoned Executor of the Church. But even without that, they can be used to an effect.
The most simplistic and brutish method, I grabbed it with my fist and jabbed it into his chest at full speed.
My Time Alter wore off as a wave of pain and exhaustion washed over me.
The Dead Apostle let out a strangled gasp as the Black Key pushed through his heart, and I continued forward until he was fully impaled into the side of the school.
He finally went limp, and I nearly collapsed to the ground with gasps as my legs all but gave out.
My shirt was torn apart, and I was cut, bleeding, and bruised, but I won.
My Circuits were on fire.
That last use of Time Alter, my Circuits were burning bad enough that they became visible under my skin from overuse. The ethereal teal lines of magical energy surged through my body as steam began to waft off me.
I took out the last two Black Keys, and I stabbed them into him without hesitation.
One right through his head, the other through his neck.
I wasn't going to leave it there and just hope it's truly dead.
Even as that took the last bits of energy from me, I felt it was worth it.
If I had even the smallest amount of energy left, I would have set him on fire, but I was struggling to even turn my Circuits off at the moment as my body swayed left to right.
Everything was blurry, and it was hard to focus.
He twitched.
I think he twitched.
I couldn't tell.
That was until his eyes opened.
His whip-like arm, even from his impaled position, slashed at me.
His razor-sharp nails slashed across my chest as it slapped me away. I hit something hard again, and the disorientation set in. I don't know what broke my momentum, but it hurt.
The pain was substantial, the most I've ever felt in my life.
I don't know if I could stand up.
I tried, but I slumped against whatever was against my back.
The Dead Apostle, it was pulling itself off the Black Keys.
No, it's like the extended limbs of his were free from the conceptual weapons that were binding it. They flailed around and tried to touch the weapons, but they were immediately repelled by the weapons of the Church.
Instead, they pressed against the building and began to push against it until the Dead Apostle's body ripped itself apart to free itself.
Its body fell off the wall.
However, its brain, parts of its throat, and even its heart remained impaled there as its body spasmed on the ground.
It took several moments before it stood up again, eyes glazed over, half mindless, but somehow still focused on me.
Ah.
This wasn't good.
I stood up against my body's complaints.
[Master]
I smiled and held up my hand as it glowed brightly.
It leapt at me.
"By the Power of this Command Spell, overturn Time and Space and appear by my side, Lancer!"
An astronomical amount of Magical Energy erupted for a split second. It didn't make use of my own reserves nor my own circuits. It was all provided by the Command Seals on my hand.
It was bright, maybe from the magical energy surge, or Lancer's own arrival carrying with it a burst of light.
All the tension in me had escaped at that moment.
I could fall onto the ground and relax if I wanted.
She didn't say anything, barely even touched the ground as the glowing spear in her hand thrust forward, and with it, the Dead Apostle was destroyed, the majority of its body utterly disappearing as what remained fell to the ground.
This time, well and truly unmoving.
I'm fairly sure I heard sirens pulling up.
Better late than never, I suppose.
Well, this was a gigantic clusterfuck if I've ever seen one.
Maybe if I pass out, I can pretend this was all a dream.
[Line Break]
A/N
The Dead Apostle is dead, but things are far from over.
If you want to read 1 chapter ahead or support me, visit my p.a.t.r.e.o.n.c.o.m / astoryforone
I also have a boosty if you can't use the above under the same name Like ReplyReport Reactions:B0rn2BFr33, mji, Drakomes and 558 othersAStoryForOneDec 21, 2025Add bookmarkView discussionThreadmarks Chapter 9 View contentAStoryForOneVersed in the lewd.Dec 21, 2025Add bookmark#12If you lived in Brockton Bay, you knew the sound of Armsmaster's motorcycle.
Armsmaster, perhaps the most famous Cape in the city. A Tinker who waved around a Halberd that was so stuffed with technology that it would make Batman envious.
He was also one of the most famous Tinkerers in the PRT.
A Tinkerer being a type of powerset of Parahumans that allows them to create Technology that shouldn't work. Like it was plucked from the future and somehow things just work with modern components.
I mentally went over the information I had of him.
His over engineered Motorcycle getting closer to the school.
It had its own 'sound' to indicate his coming.
Apparently, it reduced crime rates with just him driving around the city during his patrols at night. Obviously, he could turn it off if he wanted, but in a case like this, where a school is attacked, presumably, the priority is getting the perpetrators away from the kids.
The regular sirens of police cars were somewhat drowned out by it, but I could hear them as they got closer.
My Circuits were on fire, but I grit my teeth.
"Second Revolution." I pictured the Earth completing a rotation around the Sun, and Immediately, a surge of pain shot through my body, like I had just been hit by a bolt of lightning.
My Magic Crest flared to life.
Across my chest and up my neck before it stopped.
Unfortunately, I couldn't handle using it in combat. My dad once told me that it took him over a decade before he could handle using it in stressful situations without it being debilitating and a hazard rather than a benefit.
It was because the amount of information that suddenly flooded my head when I used it.
I couldn't compartmentalize it yet.
But it would suffice for my purposes in this moment.
I was out of Mana otherwise, I just needed a tiny bit.
"Lancer, Destroy all remains of the Dead Apostle other than the last bits of its body." I ordered her.
She looked at me in worry.
It was one of the most genuine expressions of emotion I'd seen of her yet.
I don't think even she realized it.
She didn't argue with me, a nod and she moved to destroy the blood stains thrown about, and what parts of its flesh I had destroyed.
I dabbed my fingers into the pool of blood that belonged to me, and I began to draw out a Constellation onto the ground.
"Auriga, Charioteer of the Northern Sky,
He who steadies the reins of Heaven –
Capella, Shining Guard-Star,
Cast your Light upon this Threshold."
I connected the hastily drawn stars I had drawn on the ground and established a boundary line.
"By the Circle of the stars, define the inner world.
By the Shield upon your arm, deny the outer foe.
By the Strength of your seat, anchor this ground in my name."
I stepped back and the Stars connected, and the full form of the Constellation appeared across the ground, as if coming alive.
"I draw upon your path, star by star –
Let this place be held.
Let this Boundary be Closed.
Let no trespasser pass unburned."
The spell fully actualized, and a firm Bounded Field climbed upwards, engulfing the area around not just me, but what remained of the actual body of the Dead Apostle. As a side effect, or rather, a benefit in this case, I used my blood intentionally because my blood acted as a catalyst.
The Spell actualization utilized all the discarded blood in the area, igniting it and drawing out of the Magical Energy in the remnants before pulling from what was stored in my Crest.
That meant, I didn't need to worry about leaving behind blood samples. Well, the actual puddles of blood and blood splatter remained, but what constituted my 'DNA' both mundane and Magical was now destroyed.
"Second Revolution, Return." I breathed out and felt a surge of blood and bile bubble up as I threw it up onto the ground.
My Crest Flickered and turned off as I keeled over, nearly collapsing.
I felt a hand catch me as I looked up to see Lancer holding me steady.
I couldn't just destroy the remains completely just yet; I needed to make sure I had evidence secured to properly protect my ass because this was going ot be a shit show.
I should call the local Church organization, I think they operate out of Boston.
"Master, you are severely harmed, I will take you home."
"Can't." I said between pants. "Clean up. I won't die." I reassured her even though I felt my vision nearly go black for a moment.
The Adrenalin was wearing off, the pain was kicking in fully. The concussion was almost certain, along with several lacerations, torn and gouged flesh, broken bones, sprains, muscle pulls.
My body was a mess, but I wouldn't die.
"Parahumans! Cease all activity, surrender yourself into the custody of the PRT immediately!" The roar of Armsmaster's motorcycle followed quickly as he drove it right into the courtyard, barreling through a locked gate like it weren't even there.
He was wearing a futuristic blue suit of armor that pricked on my senses as a young man.
In any other situation, and if I didn't know about the man himself, I may have thought it was cool.
He jumped off his bike, surveying the surroundings.
He saw the 'body' of the Dead Apostle.
He saw Lancer, and there seemed to be a look of…. recognition?
[Have you met him before, Lancer?]
[The creatures have been cleared and contained within the city, but I fear I was not able to remain unseen during the chaos.]
Right, I'll deal with that later.
He tried to step forward and ran right into my Bounded Field, bouncing off it slightly.
The look of confusion quickly disappeared as the shimmering shield of Energy had disappeared from sight. He reached out, touched it again, and a flicker of energy pulsed across the outside of the barrier, clearly showing that it was there.
It didn't stop him from going to the Cafeteria where everyone else was though.
"Parahuman, remove your powers that are preventing my approach, or you will be deemed a hostile entity." He sounded kind of robotic, not physically, but his prose.
Huh, he didn't immediately consider me hostile.
I guess, the picture painted here was…obvious.
I opened my mouth as if to respond, but then I realized.
What's the point?
I ignored him.
Even as Police poured in to secure the area, I ignored further demands, tuning it out.
"Lancer, destroy the last remnants please." I said to her again as I fell to my butt.
She nodded, seeing that I wasn't going to die.
She moved around, destroying blood, pieces of flesh, and what have you that remained. Other than the last big chunks of its full body.
She left the pieces impaled into the wall, but my Bounded Field covered those, so it was fine.
"Cease your actions, you are destroying evidence!" He shouted, and swung his sci-fi Halberd at my Bounded Field.
The last thing I want to do is give the idiots in the PRT access to a Dead Apostle's blood for 'experimentation'. Likewise, if I didn't do everything I could to prevent that, my ass was going to be thoroughly fucked by the powers that be. At the very least, I needed to do what I could to contain the situation.
His 'attack' didn't do anything.
He seemed surprised.
He pushed his Halberd against it. The Barrier flickered with Magical Energy and repelled his attack again.
I think…he was offended?
Well, the Bounded Field repelled physical intrusions mostly, that's the design of it compared to the plethora of Bounded Fields available.
It took the Cafeteria door slamming open, on the other side, that seemed to knock him out of his stupor as he realized that there was another priority here.
The actual Police poured in, as a bunch of crying and shouting kids ran out.
It became a chaotic mess, but it was being….contained, a bit ways away.
There were plenty of them that just booked it too. Plenty of Gang Members, if I had to guess.
"We need medics in here immediately, Ward down, Ward down!"
Armsmaster's head snapped as people dressed in both medical wear and looked like they were going into a war zone and run into the courtyard and pushed crying kids out of the way unceremoniously before getting Shadow Stalker up on a stretcher.
It wasn't only her, plenty more flooded in and they were doing their best to tend to the other kids who were hurt by what happened.
With a flash, another person joined.
Wearing a red suit, and moving at high speeds, I do believe that's 'Velocity'.
A Flash Knockoff.
He can't even touch things when he's moving at 'high speeds'.
"Armsmaster, what's the situation?" He said, looking clearly out of breath and like he had been running around for hours.
"Shadow Stalker is being taken in for Emergency Care." He immediately informed him. "Unknown Parahumans refuse to respond to lawful orders and have destroyed evidence. They will be taken into custody immediately."
"Woah woah." Velocity stepped in front of Armsmaster as he readied to attack my Bounded Field again, as he seemed to glance at Lancer. "Hey, you're the lady from the city that helped with the BioTinker terrorist attack, right? New Cape? Can you take this um…barrier down? You're clearly a heroic Cape, this is a misunderstanding. Let's just talk this out."
Lancer looked at him, but didn't speak a word.
I did not have the mental capacity to deal with this at the moment.
But I knew I was up shit creek without a paddle.
Armsmaster went still for a moment, as if he was listening to something.
"Name, Frederick Verde, age 17, parents deceased, status: Legal Emancipation." He looked at me. "You are ordered to cease use of your Parahuman powers at once. Submit to custody and you will be routed to Brockton Bay Hospital for immediate care."
Well, looks like I was already identified.
"Wait, the barrier is the kid's?" Velocity spoke up. "Alright, kid, listen, I don't' know what's going on, but you don't seem to be a villain, right? You stopped the attack? That makes you a hero, let's just get you healed up first and we can clear up this misunderstanding later."
Were they playing good cop bad cop?
Actually, from what I recall, Armsmaster was just….not very good at handling people without a script.
I have the right to remain silent, anything I say can and will be used against me by the Clock Tower and possibly demand my execution.
[Lancer, can you go get my bag in the cafeteria, quickly. I need my Phone to call the closest Church to report this incident.]
The faster I get it reported, the more I can get ahead of things when they eventually blow back on me.
Look, I did everything right, it's not my fault that it all went to shit.
[There's no need.] She responded. [They are already here.]
The casualness of it took me aback.
It took me a moment to process what she just said, and I followed her gaze.
My anger immediately flared up to the peak. Because standing on the roof was someone I recognized. Not because I knew them, but from my memories.
"You motherfucker." I shouted, looking at her right in the eye.
It was Ciel, the Burial Agency member.
With her were other Executors.
[I did not have the time to report to you, but members of their group were involved, secretly, in destroying Ghouls within the city. I encountered some of their numbers while I was assisting.] She informed me.
I couldn't fault her of course. I couldn't be distracted in my 'fight'. It could have gotten me killed.
My shout seemed to startle the two heroes with us too, because they knew what I was looking at now as well.
"Unknown Parahuman, identify yourself!" Armsmaster pointed his weapon at her and Velocity looked like he was ready to fight.
I shouted at her, because I understood what was happening.
There was no way she just 'suddenly appeared'.
A Burial Agency member doesn't hunt down lowly Dead Apostles like this.
Any random Executor could have managed, or a group I suppose.
But the Burial Agency, it would be like using Lancer using her Noble Phantasm to hunt squirrels.
Therefore, they were already here in my city.
Ciel jumped off the roof, and several other Executors came into the courtyard. The thing was, the school was no doubt surrounded by cops, yet they came in so casually.
"Good heroes of the PRT, please stand down. We'll handle it from here." Another Executor, a man in a priest garb, he smiled warmly at them as he approached.
Though, the two heroes weren't about to just listen to a random Priest who walked up and told them to 'stand down'.
It looked like Armsmaster was about to argue, but his face went blank again, and I'm sure he heard something in his earpiece before his expression change.
"Console, please repeat. What do you mean stand down and pull back?" He tone was anything but pleased. "Orders? Who's Orders? I have a Ward in the hospital, and several students dead. A Parahuman –"
He immediately shut up.
"....understood, Console."
"Wait, what's happening?" Velocity asked.
"Orders from high up. We are told to pull back." He said through grit teeth.
"What do you mean pull back? What?"
"Please don't make this harder than it has to be." The Smiling Priest said politely.
"Who the hell are you? Some Capes from Haven? Why does he have jurisdiction, Armsmaster?" Velocity complained, but Armsmaster didn't seem to have an answer for him.
It was painfully obvious to me that the Church pulled some heavy-handed means to assert authority here in a haste.
I couldn't blame them for that at least, this was an unprecedented event in the scale of reveal.
The Priest just completely ignored him from that moment further.
And I stopped caring too.
"You." I hissed as I willingly stepped out of my Bounded Field and walked up to Ciel. "You were hunting a Dead Apostle in MY City, and you didn't even let me know!?"
The only way they were here already is if they were already hunting the Dead Apostle.
That means they were hunting in my city, and they didn't inform me.
The Executors immediately went combat ready.
"Lancer, if any of them make a move, kill them." I said plainly, fully for them to hear.
"What? Dude, you can't just say something like that!" Velocity blurted out.
"Young man, perhaps –" The Smiling priest tried to reply, but I cut him off.
"Be quiet." I snapped at him. "I'm not talking to you; I'm talking to the Burial Agency member. I am the Second Owner of this City, and you failed to inform me of your arrival."
I got up into her face.
Her eyes narrowed.
She overstepped.
They overstepped.
"I don't answer to you." She returned with the same arrogant tone I was using. "This was a sanctioned mission; your affiliations are irrelevant to me."
In any other situation, she may have had a case.
"Well, maybe you'll answer to the Cardinal I have on speed dial. Let's see what he has to say about the Heretic among their number that have so directly fucked my city." I threatened.
She scoffed. "As if one of your kind could pull rank on me."
"I am the head of the Verde Family. The Church owes my family a big debt. Test me, please. I will call it in. Now answer my damn question, Why is a Burial Agency member in my city without informing me?"
The thing about debts is that even if the Church hates the holder of it, they likewise have to respect it just as well.
I think she was debating on if she should just kill me.
But also, she took a glance at Lancer.
The small flicker was one of weariness.
I don't think she recognized Lancer as a Heroic Spirit, but she recognized Lancer as a threat. That was more than enough for me to use.
Another person in a Church garb walked up and whispered in her ear during our little standoff.
Again, there was the tiniest flicker of emotion across her face.
Like a dawning realization before she steeled herself.
She fucked up.
She just realized she fucked up. I don't know what he told her, but I think she now realized I wasn't a random Magi in fucking nowhere that could only just stomp my foot and throw a tantrum.
The funny thing is, she could run roughshod over Magi in normal situations. The Church will have the backs of their agents when dealing with Dead Apostles. Doubly so for someone who's a member of the Burial Agency.
However, my family has ties with the church.
Old ties.
The kind that are mentioned in very old stories that come with words like 'blood debts'.
A long long time ago, one of my ancestors saved a Pope who was fleeing from the Vatican. The Pope promised a debt to my family, and it has been recorded there since.
My family actually has a friendly relationship with the Church.
And Ciel just shat all over it.
From ignorance, mostly.
Arrogance as well.
But I knew who she was, she despised Magi. She wouldn't give two thoughts about doing the same thing in another situation.
"There was no time to inform you, The Dead Apostle just arrived –"
"Bullshit." I immediately cut her off. "I've been turning over Ghoul Nests for a week."
She clicked her tongue because she knew I had her caught in her very obvious lie.
"Alerting Second Owners is a courtesy." She countered immediately, changing tactics.
Technically, she was right.
The Mages Association and the Church were separate entities.
Entities that were technically enemies.
But also, we shared common goals and had sort of agreements.
"Let's see if everyone else thinks the same when I report your negligence and throw this mess at your feet." I turned on my heel. "This is your mess now; you can clean it up."
My legs trembled, I could barely stand up anymore.
[Lancer, grab me. Take me home immediately, I'm about to collapse.]
Just as I said that I felt her hands on me and she whisked me away.
"Wait, where are you going!?" I heard Ciels' surprised cry.
Nope.
I am taking the one out I was given in this gigantic cluster fuck.
I am putting all of this mess at the feet of the Church.
I was furious that they had been in my City and not informed me. It was a gigantic breach of protocol and courtesies. The kind that would drive a wedge between our two organizations in the future once it got out.
And yet, it was also an opportunity.
Now, I had someone to blame everything on.
Rather quickly, I felt my eyes close and darkness took me as the last of my strength left my body.
[Line Break]
A/N
Why was a Burial Agency member chasing a lowly Dead Apostle like this? Well, that'll be answered later. Frederick just took the opportunity to get away and lay the blame at the feet of the Church.
But at this point, things are beyond fucked. Hundreds of kids saw and heard everything. Recorded everything too, no amount of hypnosis is putting this genie back in the bottle.
Lancer will talk about what happened on her end, maybe some other POV from the PRT, and some other stuff coming up next.