5Demonic Defence Part 2
The first portal began to open just as night started to fall.
"7:15 precisely." VEGA noted, viewing the moon peering over the horizon. "Thank goodness for standardised solar cycles."
Doomguy nodded, taking the final moment he had before the slaughter to glance around at the Town Hall before focusing on the night that he was bringing to the demons.
On almost all accounts, the townsfolk had been cooperative with their requests. Though Del initially had a few gripes with the departure time for the trip, once Mira convinced him that it would be good practice for his firefighter training, 'stoked' was not the word to describe his enthusiasm.
Their flight had departed as scheduled two hours prior, and though the goodbye flipper bump Boomer had bestowed upon Mr Doom had almost stirred a tear duct in the ancient killing machine, he knew that it was for the best.
"The first wave consists of Cacodemons and imps." Tom Nook crackled over the comms system seconds before the demons revealed themselves through the tear in space. The tanuki had been more than helpful in setting up scanning equipment and comms links village-wide, making the task of 'search and destroy' infinitely easier than if they had just been relying on VEGA's basic suit equipment.
"Not for long." VEGA replied, and with that an ancient bloodlust began to stir again in the Slayer's bones. Dashing forward into the shambling mob, he unleashed his flame belch, singing the groaning imps. Arcane energy fell from their bodies, morphing itself into armour as soon as it left their skin, and in no time at all the Slayers armour bar was back to full.
Once farmed Doomguy had no further use for them, and quickly dispatched them with a few well aimed shots of his heavy canon. As they splattered across the scenery, he turned his gaze upwards to the two flying Cacodemons baring their teeth above him. He returned the snarls through his helmet, switching nimbly to his combat shotgun, flicking the "sticky bomb" modification on and firing two bombs into their gaping maws. The sickening pops of their exploding corpses echoed nicely across the flat plane.
"Precision is 100%." VEGA told him, tallying up the ammo losses. Though the pair had been fully kitted out by Tom it was always good practice to keep an ammo check, and regardless of the marine and sentinel training the Slayer had endured it was handy to keep a visual score as well as a mental check. "Wave one seems to be complete. Either we over estimated the severity of this invasion, or they are testing the waters."
"I would assume the latter." Nook chipped in, sending the pulsating energy readings to the AI. "Dispatching the forward guard had reduced the imminent energy by hardly any."
"I... *bleurgh* am still stru-… *bleurgh*...struggli-…*bleurgh*...struggling...to find any...*bleurgh*..."
"Focus on the portal and not on ourselves, Blathers. If you notice any star signs or clues to wherever it is coming from, it could give us valuable information." VEGA instructed, remembering that not all of those who encountered violence were as prepared for it as they were.
Or, it seemed, as prepared as the tanuki. "The second wave is imminent. The energy spikes suggest their main force is starting to breach through."
As if on que, several other portals opened up around the initial one, allowing a larger host of imps to pass through with a smattering of gargoyles between their ranks, all howling and screeching for flesh.
Behind them came the heavier caste, and in greater force. This time the Cacodemons were accompanied by two ground stomping Hell Knights and the shimmer of a prowler darting between the ranks in the hopes of catching him off guard.
Doomguy snorted. At least the portals were contained to one location, and better yet they were exactly in the planned location before the town hall. Dashing nimbly to the left, the Slayer's armour cracked open and fired an ice bomb, freezing the invisible demon before it had the chance to teleport. Two super shotgun blasts to the face then made sure the demon never had the chance again.
"On your right." The AI warned, but by the time his head had turned the first Hell Knight had connected a solid haymaker, shredding the armour he had accumulated and sending him flying backwards.
Shaking his head clear, Doomguy returned his super shotgun to its holster in favour of his plasma rifle and began peppering his assailant with shots from his new found distance. The now assailed demon roared and charged forward in defiance, but rather than dodge the marine continued to fire, building up the weapon's heat. At the last possible second, and with the demon leaping in the air to ground pound him, he unleashed a heat blast, slaughtering the creature before it hit the floor.
"Incoming fire from one to four o'clock." VEGA announced and Doomguy dashed backwards to avoid the Cacodemons' energy orbs and gargoyle's fireballs. Switching back to his combat shotgun, he popped three grenades into their mouths before switching back to his heavy canon to preserve ammo.
As much as he wanted to, he had agreed with Tom to refrain from chain-sawing or meat-hooking his opponents unless absolutely necessary in case any of the remaining townsfolk happened to glimpse through their boarded-up windows. It was bad enough that poor Blathers could hear them while they transferred him the astrology data, let alone if one of them saw the massacre.
Ammo spurted from the end of the gun and dispatched the rest of the flying gargoyles with precise shots to their skulls. Centuries and multitudes of weapons had prepared him for quick, accurate and deadly shots, and as such the final demon died before the first crashed to earth.
That only left a few fodders and the remaining Hell Knight to deal with, who roared a challenge at the man before it.
Doomguy gladly obliged.
Sprinting forward, he closed the gap between him and his enemies before repeating the flame trick from the first wave. Armour poured from their seared bodies as the roar of the flames drowned out their screams. The Slayer gathered it up whilst preparing his chain gun, spinning the barrels right before them before unleashing a torrent of well-aimed shots at point blank range.
Though the demon howled in pain and tried to retaliate, the energy shields prevented any meaningful response, and in no time at all it was reduced to mincemeat along with the rest f the imps.
"WAVE ONE COMPLETE!" Isabelle announced, crackling through the town's speakers.
"This is actually wave two," VEGA corrected her, "but thank you for your enthusiasm."
The dog shot out a shocked expression from her office in the town hall and flushed a bright shade of red. "SORRY EVERYONE, I WAS NAPPING...ERM...WAVE TWO COMPLETE!"
"How could she n-nap through that?!" A shell-shocked Blathers sputtered out, reeling from the demonic wails.
"Any interpretation of the data I'm giving you?" Tom asked, trying to focus the poor curator to take his mind off the carnage.
"I...erm...I can't make sense of it..." He admitted, hanging his beak in shame. "It's unlike anything I have studied before."
"That is good news." VEGA reassured them, circuits racing in the background to piece together what limited information he had. "I am sure you have noticed too."
Doomguy grunted, furrowing his brow for a moment. Whatever did come through the gates he was more than happy to handle. With his armour back to full, his body barely even scraped and with full knowledge of his surroundings, he felt confident enough to take whatever was throw his way, though so far, the enemies...
"All the demons are un-augmented." The AI clarified.
"Meaning...?"
"More likely than not, they are pure hell spawn. That, coupled with the incomprehensible readings, suggests that the assault is most likely originating from hell itself."
The tanuki sighed. "That's something at least. I'll let the girls know."
Glancing down from his monitoring, tucked away deep inside his underground bunker beneath the shop, he flicked the console to switch to the Able sister's channel. "How are you holding up?"
"W-W-We're..." Sable began, before rushing to the other side of her store blushing. "You go!" She mouthed to her sister, who sighed with a smile and took the mic.
"All ok here; what are you needing?" Mable asked, continuing with her sewing.
"It turns out we will only need designs three...four...five...eight..."
"WAVE THREE INCOMING!" Isabelle announced, and Doomguy spun to the portals...to find nothing approaching. "OH...SORRY...SORRY I WAS GETTING EXCITED!"
"She reminds me of you." VEGA remarked, causing the marine to let out an annoyed huff. Though the shih tzu was allowed to stay and monitor the town hall for her own peace of mind, the group had elected to not tell her exactly what was going on. The words "intense waving competition" may have been used, though at this point they were beginning to regret their choice.
As they continued to look forward the portals finally began to widen again, crackling with the influx of argent energy. The AI ran a quick ammunition check and did its best to analyse the varying forms of the horde that flooded through them.
The troops from the first two waves were now accompanied by two bulky Pinkies flanking a giant Baron of Hell. The landscape rumbled underneath its feet, and even the trees seemed tiny compared to its towering frame.
"I am surprised one has came out this early." The AI commented, watching the Hell Knights take formation around it. "Perhaps you should have restocked the ammunition during the last interlude?"
The marine grunted, considering his options. Though he loved nothing more than gore and violence against his demonic enemies, he was at loathe to resort to his chainsaw after his agreement. That said, as he scanned the field and tallied up the number of enemies he had to face this time, it was apparent that at the very least his reserves would be severely depleted if he didn't act fast.
Allowing his shoulders to relax for a moment, he reached into his armour and produced his favourite demonic dispatcher; the BFG. Its green glow hummed as he raised it towards the demons in front of him with a sadistic grin.
"The BFG is now firing." VEGA announced, as Doomguy pulled the trigger and unleashed the green light of death at the portals.
The majority of the enemies before him were vapourised instantly, crackling for a brief moment in sheer agony as their bodies were vapourised. However, the Baron of Hell and his right flanking Pinky managed to survive it, albeit after sustaining a lot of damage.
"That seemed like a worthwhile use of..."
"Watch out behind you!" Tom called out on the comms. Doomguy spun round a fraction of a second too late and was unable to dodge the barrage of hits from an unsuspected Prowler. The demon lashed the marine, stripping away his armour and slicing its claws into his flesh.
The marine knew better than to recoil in pain; any seconds spent lingering in that feeling were seconds wasted. Instead, he whipped out his super shotgun and fired two-point blank blasts at the attacking creature, splattering its remains far enough to cover the outside walls of the town hall.
"It must have snuck in at the start." The AI grumbled, wondering if Isabelle's announcement had actually been on time after all. "I can't detect another one on my scanners, so the only remains are those two over there."
Doomguy scoffed. 'Only'. The Barons of Hell were called that for a reason. For eons they had manipulated demonic invasions across the galaxy if not universe from behind the scenes in their hellish realm where only the strong survived. They were a caste above the rest, capable of inflicting as much punishment as they could take.
The one in front of him seemed no exception. It's Pinky bellowed and advanced, assaulting Doomguy with a forward attack while it's master recovered from the blow. The Slayer sidestepped the charge by the skin of his teeth, before dashing forward and ending it with a super shotgun shell to its exposed, weakened flesh.
"Shotgun ammo depleted." VEGA's announcement elicited another annoyed grunt, as the marine holstered the weapon. Though his menagerie of weapons gave him a range of ways to damage and shock his opponents, the shared ammunition types between some of them was troublesome.
Finally recovered, the Baron of hell snarled at its target in a rage. It was only during territory disputes with similar ranking demons that I had taken damage of this calibre before, and it was certainly not going to let him off for it.
Without warning it unleashed a wave of explosive argent energy towards Doomguy, which he had no choice but to take head on. He wasn't sure what substance the town hall was made from, but he was taking no chances with an assault like that. For the first time in weeks, he felt his blood soaking through his under-armour as his vision slightly blurred.
"FINALLY!"He roared, rushing forwards to take the beast head on. The Baron responded with an earth-shattering ground pound, though the Slayer was wise to their moves and stayed just outside of the area of effect.
Positioning himself with his back towards the river, he produced his trusty rocket launcher and loaded it up. Ideally, he wanted to save this for the final wave, but with his shotgun depleted and his chain gun ammo required for tactical heavy rifle shooting, he decided this was the best he could do.
Shaking its horned, glowing head, the Baron of Hell scanned the area for its target. Only after the rockets connected did it realise where they came from, and by then its mangled corpse was too ruined to do anything about it.
"WAVE THREE COMPLETED!" Isabelle announced, and Doomguy lifted his helmet for a moment to spit out some blood.
"You should resupply and heal quickly." Tom told him over their comms, but saw the energy spike to critical levels on his screen. "Oh...it seems you may be..."
"FINAL WAVE INCOMING!" Isabelle roared, before rocking back and spinning on her chair. She was having far too much fun to be cooped up in the office, though she didn't know why.
"Lure them to Nook's shop." VEGA suggested, studying the portals for any clues to what the final encounter would hold for them. "Route alpha is still viable; just as we planned."
The side portals spun and whirred menacingly before merging into four final ones; three on the ground and one in the air. The one in the air spawned two pain elementals, which were flanked by several circling lost souls calling out for blood. Despite entering first, the group held back, as if waiting for something to come with them.
Out of two of the side ground portals came four Hell Knights and two more Barons of Hell accompanying them. The prowlers than snuck through with them this time did not go undetected, though once again all held back their assault for a moment.
The middle portal swelled in size before producing three dreadful forms. The first was a stout looking Archville, which seemed to be warming its vocal cords for what was to come. At the slightest hum of its voice, Doomguy felt the power emanating from it bolster the other entities powers significantly.
The second form was one of a similar size to himself, yet much more twisted. This Marauder's armour alone told of its countless battles and training, and promised him nothing but trouble and pain.
Finally, the third figure towered above even the Barons of Hell beside it, stroking its mechanical rocket armour with sick pleasure. It was a sight that boiled his blood and fanned the flames of hatred, for this demon epitomised everything that hell stood for.
A Tyrant.
"Route simulation complete." VEGA announced, accounting for as many unexpected occurrences as possible. "Initiate when ready."
Doomguy lingered for a moment, revelling in the standoff between Hell's finest and Hell's bane, before darting down the river to the bridge. As he ran, he pulled out his ballista and checked the ammo that still remained.
The plan that had been put into motion was one that specialised in dealing with ground based assaults, and as such he had done his best to conserve as much ranged ammo as possible. While the Cacodemons before had been well worth the grenades he had launched into them, these pain elementals required something with a bit more power and precision.
Said pain elementals launched themselves forward through the air, wailing and promising him a bloody demise. The ground units followed, with the Hell Knights flanking their respective Barons of Hell as they chased the running marine down along the water's edge.
However, the Tyrant remained steadfast next to the now crooning Archvile. "It appears that the boss requires more of an incentive to leave."
"I suppose it's in charge for a reason." Tom mused, pondering what to do in the situation. "Unless you take out that singing monster your chances of success will drop to..."
"PLEASE MAKE IT STOP!" Blathers cried out, his feathers doing little to cover his sensitive ears from the cursed speech it was spewing.
"We can't afford to waste the BFG shot yet and with them blood lusted you may not have enough ammunition to put them down." VEGA said, circuits hurriedly working towards a solution.
Doomguy found one first. Two grunts was all he needed to communicate his plan, to which his trusty AI carried out instantly.
"Isabelle; would you mind singing a song for us?"
The secretary leapt off her chair excitedly. Finally; a chance to show her quality and to get involved! "OK HERE GOES!"
"A genius plan, I just admit." The AI complimented as the slayer looped around to gain a clear line of sight on the dark bard. "No doubt whatever wholesome music she decides to sing will have an opposing effect on..."
"LET THE BODIES HIT THE FLOOR! LET THE BODIES HIT THE FLOOR! LET THE BODIES HIT THE FLOOR! LET THE BODIES HIT THE...FLOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOORRR!"
Both the marine and the demons paused in shock. "This was... unexpected..."
The moment of awe passed a fraction quicker for the seasoned war veteran, and while the horde was still stunned by the surprisingly guttural singing growls of the cute Shih Tzu, their opponent was able to rush right up to the Archvile and send it back to hell with a clean bisection from his Crucible.
"So much for no gore." Nook grumbled, turning the volume down on his audio equipment. He had caught Isabelle one too many times singing around the town and in her office to know that once she started, there was no stopping her.
Blathers meanwhile had decided enough was enough. "I...have to leave..." He groaned, reeling now from the metal music assaulting his ears. "Its...to much..."
"Take care and get some rest." VEGA told him. "We should be able to handle it from here."
The Tyrant finally processed the loss of it's comrade and roared in anger. The demons behind Doomguy echoed it's call, and resumed their pursuit with their master in tow.
"No sighting of the Marauder, but for now you should focus on the task at hand." The Slayer grunted, producing his ballista and aiming at the pain elementals that were drifting towards him before the other demons caught up to him.
These shots he took as long as possible with, lining them up and making sure they hit dead in the eyes. Though they were big targets and though he was more than capable of hitting something a lot smaller from that distance, these shots were instrumental to their plan.
As the final bolt decimated the final pain elemental, he and his AI were left with the ground forces to deal with, who were almost upon him. The Hell Knights at the front swung a few punches at him, but he dashed to the side, missing their hits by inches.
However, he wasn't free from the barrage just yet. Targeted marks appeared on the ground all around him, causing him to once again dash as quickly as possible out of the way of the Tyrants guided rockets. This gave the Barons of Hell the perfect opportunity to hit him simultaneously, cracking several of his bones through the armour and sending him sprawling on the floor.
"Damage levels critical." VEGA warned, concern seeping through as Doomguys vision began to blur. Despite being there for over a week, he still wasn't used to the small terrain he had to battle on, and as he picked himself slowly back up he watched as the Hell Knights leapt forward in assault...
Only to freeze mid air.
"And just what do you think you are doing, messing up my turf?!"
The eyes of the frozen demons and their masters pointed downwards to the newcomer, who appeared in the form of an angry mole with a hat.
"Oh...he's back." Tom sighed, setting his speakers to mute for the next minute.
"Do you know how much time and effort goes into making this ground so soft and pristine?!" The mole ranted, bobbing it's head angrily in and out of its hole, "No, because you aren't Mr Resetti and you don't have to deal with these kind of things. Now the first few times I let you off because I thought you'd be new to this sort of thing, but it seems that you lot don't learn from your mistakes at all! So, now I have to give you the talk about properly maintaining this lawn. To start with, I treat the grass with..."
The Tyrant and Barons of Hell were completely dumbfounded by this, and watched in utter shock as the tiny animal continued its tirade against them.
VEGA, on the other hand, chose to use the time to plot an optimal route for escape instead of pondering the animal with apparent time control powers. "Move slowly and get to your feet, then if you make two dashes, a jump and a short sprint you will be back on the bridge and ready to continue the plan."
Doomguy nodded, painfully getting to full height and preparing himself to sprint. This snapped the Tyrant out of his daze, who promptly roared and aimed for Resetti's steaming head. One well placed rocket and the rant stopped.
"Go!" The Slayer executed the route perfectly just as the Hell Knights crashed into the ground where he was before. Dodging the follow-up blasts from the Barons of Hell, he jumped over the fired rocket from the Tyrant and sprinted straight across the bridge, letting the horde follow him as his adrenaline numbed the pain.
"Two steps...one step...jump now."
Doomguy leapt into the air across the ground, flying forward and gaining sight of Nook's Cranny before suddenly stopping and turning back to face them. With a malevolent grin, he reached out his hand and beckoned them forward.
They kindly obliged, running head first into the town's most powerful trap of all; pitfall seeds. Doomguy had spent several minutes the day before digging and planting the cursed objected in beautiful X's, and the Hell Knights and their Barons of Hell fell straight into them.
"I suppose this is a suitable payback for them sending you here." VEGA mused, watching with his user as the trapped demons struggled helplessly in the ground. No amount of training had prepared them for being buried waist deep in soil that was simultaneously harder than steel yet mushier than quicksand.
"The BFG is now firing."
The Tyrant behind them bellowed in frustration, unable to pass by them regardless of its size or power, and was left to watch helplessly as the inevitable green flash from the trusty BFG decimated it's forces, leaving only the Barons of Hell and itself charred and demoralised.
Despite the Barons of Hell finally managing to crawl out of their individual holes, the corpses of the Hell Knights at the front prevented the holes in front of them from disappearing; trapping them in position.
"DEATH!"The slayer boomed, switching to his chaingun and emptying the rest of his ammo into the helpless Barons. They fell far quicker than the first one he had encountered, and their noble cursed blood flooded into the holes of their subordinates.
Realising far too late how fitting the name Doomguy was for it's current situation, the Tyrant tried to fire off a few blasts from its arm cannon.
Though destructive to the trees and ground around them, the marine nimbly dodged the rockets themselves and leapt forward, producing the Crucible once more and dispatching the leader of the pack in three gruesome strikes.
"Tom are you...?"
"We are fine," Nook replied as a crackle of alien energy shields emitted from around the shop, "But the job is incomplete. I cannot detect that final opponent, and there is no guarantee that you will be able to lure him to the shop if you can."
Doomguy snarled. This was bad. With his ammunition running critically low and a very strong opponent left to face, his military mind rushed to find an answer.
"SLAYER!" Came a corrupted voice, and as the marine looked over the horizon he caught sight of the red demon standing beside the Town Hall, pointing his shotgun at the back of a very confused Isabelle.
"I wasn't aware hostage taking was in your move set." The AI snarled through the external mic as said Slayer lumbered towards him. Though his pain tolerance was high, the hits he had taken were very brave, and without the adrenaline keeping him going he was starting to wear off and the pain was beginning to pulse back into his body.
"It is now." The Marauder spat back, a devilish grin coming to its face. "Along with argent energy manipulation. Not so strong without your ammunition or health, aren't you?"
"COME HERE AND FIND OUT!" Doomguy retorted, sheathing his weapon and cracking his knuckles. This wasn't a fight he could win; he knew that much. Despite their differences, he and the demon had undergone the same gruelling training, and to add to its comparable competency in battle, it had the luxury of being unscathed.
But he also knew that he could buy the small dog enough time for her to run to Tom's shop. She'd be safe there, and looking at her still curious face mere inches away from the barrel of a shotgun, he knew he had to.
"I'm fine right here." It cooed. "I've seen how you fight and how many of our number have fallen to you. The others were wrong to face you in a fair fight, yet I am somewhat wiser." The demon poked the back of Isabelles head with the weapon. "Beg him to save you."
"Beg?" The Shih Tsu asked, still confused by the situation. "Why would I beg? Oh; have you got me a treat?"
"A...what?" It faltered, not used to being questioned by its prey.
"A treat! I'll beg for a treat!" She began hopping from one leg to another. "My favourite is...!"
"BEG FOR HIM TO SAVE YOU!" The demon roared, hitting her head hard with the gun...to no effect. Blinking for a moment, it wound its arm back up again and connected once more with all of its force...to have her laugh.
"Ohhh are we playing the waving contest?" She asked with a smile.
VEGA answered as quickly as possible. "It is, and it would like you to wave at it as hard as you can! You can do it, for the pride of the Town!"
"Ok!" She smiled even sweeter, before waving her hand forward and launching the demon several feet backwards onto its backside. "Oh...sorry! I got a bit carried away."
Both Doomguy and the Marauder's mouths hung agape in disbelief at the sheer power of the three-foot animal. "It seems we were correct not to antagonise them." Doomguy couldn't help but nod in agreement.
"Here's the banners you ordered!" Mabel called out, and the three figures spun round to find the two sisters carrying a huge banner with anti-demon markings smattered across it. "Go Town! Go Team!"
"Gah!" The Marauder cursed, shielding its face form the non-demonic visual onslaught, though it mentally noted that this was still somehow less painful than being floored by a small dog. Raising unsteadily to its feet, it staggered slowly towards the two hedgehogs, intent on disarming and then dismembering the banner carriers.
Doomguy got to him before he could. Taking no chances, he fired his grappling hook into the side of the demon, pulling himself swiftly into the creature whilst brandishing his Crucible. "CLOSE YOUR EYES!" VEGA ordered, and the two sisters did as the Slayer turned the final opponent into mincemeat. As the pieces smattered to the floor, a shocked gasp came from behind them.
"I...that..." Isabelle started, eyes wide at the sight she had just witnessed.
"This is what I was warning you against!" Tom sighed, the potential repercussions of this violence running through his mind.
Doomguy sheathed the energy sword and turned to face her. "SORRY LITTLE ONE!" He rumbled out, hanging his head in apology.
"..was...METAL!" She called out excitedly. "Wow its just like the music videos I watch!"
The marine opened his mouth to correct her, then closed it again after thinking better of it. "Yes, indeed it is. Now, if you hold your nose for the smell, please guide the sisters towards the...strobe lights and fog machines over there."
With a peppy nod, the town assistant led the pair of banner carriers over to the still humming portals. As they approached, the tears in space seems to shrink away little by little until finally they vanished. The three of them stopped and turned back to their giant protector. "Oh, are we done?"
"We are." VEGA confirmed, his circuits smiling as the bodily damage warnings inside the suit went from red to black. "Wave four complete."
"Woohoo we won!" She hopped in the air, cheering, before stopping and looking back. "...I think?"
"YEAH...WE...WON..." Doomguy confirmed, before passing out in the carnage he had created.