Delos, 78.000 light-years from Earth
Noriko Null is a regular customer of her ship’s infirmary, and at this point she’s quite used to blackouts followed by painful migraines. At least this time she’s dressed.
<Hnn… what happened this time?> she asks, holding her hand against her head.
<You tell me. Were you trying to use your golden eyes?> Kari asks her, sitting next to her at the end of the bed.
<I don’t remember.> Noriko lies. She hasn’t fully recovered, but her memory is just fine.
<I just don’t understand why you keep using that power. You know it’s killing you.>
<I can repair the damage to my nervous system.>
<How?>
<Dunno. I’m still working on that.> Noriko shrugs, and the conversation is cut short by the ship going into red alert.
<That doesn’t sound good.> she adds, jumping out of the bed.
The bridge
Noriko and Kari reach the bridge, where most stations are manned by Kari duplicates. Kylon is sitting on the captain’s chair, next to Helen of Troy.
<Feeling better, dear?> the queen asks.
<Report. What’s the emergency?> Noriko asks Kylon, and the Lar answers while leaving the captain’s chair to her.
<Someone is trying to break into this system.>
<What do you mean? We’re inside a hollow sphere of stellar plasma. Without a hull of Neutral Matter, it’s impossible to get past it.>
<That’s the weird part… they’re not trying to breach it. They’re slamming ship after ship against it, from all directions.>
<Get us closer. Helen, any idea what this is all about?>
<Not a clue. Nobody has ever tried this strategy; in fact, nobody has ever tried to attack Delos.>
A few minutes later, the ship is close enough to the edge of the system that the wall of plasma covers the entire view. Luckily, the viewscreen automatically turns down the light reaching the bridge by a factor of several millions, to avoid blinding everyone.
<Still nothing on the sensors?> Noriko asks.
<Nothing.> one of the Kari answers.
<This just keep getting weirder. Get us through the barrier, let’s have a look at…>
Something hits the ship, and a bunch of alarms start beeping insistently.
<Shields up!> Noriko orders.
That’s too late: a pentagram of fire appears on the bridge, allowing three Demons to get inside.
The first one attempts to kill Noriko with a scythe made of Blood energy, but it’s blocked by her personal forcefield.
The bridge is suddenly filled to the brim with Kari duplicates, surrounding the Demons from all sides and doing their best to restrain them.
To call the situation chaotic would be an understatement. Then suddenly a ray of light perforates the skull of one of the Demons, ricocheting against the walls to kill the other two in rapid succession, before finally returning to flesh and bone.
<Your Majesty, have you been harmed?> the Oracle Shaina asks Helen.
<Sure, worry about the only immortal around, that’s fine.> Kari sighs.
Noriko isn’t wasting time, already at work on the holographic interface of the captain’s chair.
<I’m recalibrating the shields to keep any other Blood portal from materializing inside the ship.>
<You can do that?> Kylon asks.
<I don’t know, I’m making it up as I go along! And Shaina? No more killing Demons without my consent.>
<Come on, seriously!?> the Oracle complains.
<They’re probably mind controlled, meaning they are the victims in this.>
<By Ares? Mind control doesn’t sound like his style.> Helen highlights.
<So, uhm, Nori… about that anti-Demon field… how big can you make it?> Kari asks.
<I’m not sure. Why?> Noriko asks, looking away from her monitor long enough to see the gigantic fire pentagram that is appearing on the wall of plasma.
<This is bad, isn’t it?> Helen asks.
<You have no idea. Brace for impact!> Noriko warns them.
A swarm of hundreds of battleships emerges from the pentagram, with several of the smaller ships repeatedly hitting the Ragnarok.
<Ares ships.> Helen recognizes them.
<Why do they keep crashing against us? At this point they should know they’re not going to do much damage!> Kari wonders.
<They’re making it impossible to target them. We’re sitting ducks!> the Kari in charge of the weapons systems realizes.
<Any friendly ships in the vicinity?> Noriko asks.
<We don’t have ships in this system.> Shaina replies.
<Weapons at maximum, fire in all directions. Even if we can’t target anything, we’re bound to hit something.> Noriko orders.
<Roger that. Should I call the rest of the Vanguard?> Kari asks.
<Please do. We’re going to need all the help we can get.> Noriko acknowledges, watching the ships that continue to pour into the system.
Inside the Sanctuary of Delos
Numerous pentagrams signal the arrival of Ares troops. They open fire indiscriminately on anyone they see, even if the vast majority of targets are just priests.
The Demons that facilitated this invasion don’t take an active part. They just stand by the portals, maintain a façade of utter disinterest as the Ares soldiers enjoy their slaughter.
The death toll is already in the thousands by the time the Oracles show up. The real battle begins when they engage the Demons, and it’s incredibly asymmetrical.
Only a few hundred Oracles are in the system, while the Demons can count on a force of several millions. Furthermore, the Oracles are not used to fighting someone who is able to hurt them while they transform into photons, but the Blood weapons are still lethal to them.
The Oracles are eventually overwhelmed by the enemy, and by the time the Ares forces abandon Delos there isn’t a single survivor.
Max Black’s apartment, New York City
Ever since the first Artemis attack, Null is very resistant to the idea of leaving Earth undefended.
Max Black a.k.a. Quantum is officially in charge of defending the planet, but unlike his boss he allows himself a modicum of free time.
He’s sitting on the couch, watching TV with his girlfriend Jane Blake, when his N-Phone buzzes insistently.
<Is that what I think it is?> she asks.
<I’m afraid so. Noriko wouldn’t call me if it wasn’t important… you know how she is.>
<I do. Go save the world.> she tells him, kissing him on the cheek before he transforms into light.
Io, moon of Jupiter
543 million miles from Earth
Vesta is floating inside the satellite, crawled up in a fetal position. She can feel the Blood ravaging inside her veins, in a constant battle with her divine essence.
She could probably stay here for several millennia if it wasn’t for the signal she receives through her Soul Relay.
<We have to go. Null needs us.> she hears Torn say.
<I don’t think I’m ready. It still hurts.>
<You shouldn’t try to hold the Blood. It craves action and fury; you should channel it to a worthy cause.>
<But I don’t want to lose control over it. What if I make things worse? What if I hurt someone?>
<You are the only god I know who has lost something for the good of others. If there is anyone capable of handling this, Vesta, it is you. Now rise.>
Reluctantly, Vesta opens her eyes and flies upwards. Her body is surrounded by flames… but something’s off about them.
They flow around her body like a liquid, and they shine a fiery red hue. If only she had ever been to Hell, she would recognize the same energy that resides in the planet’s core.
<Wow. This could really do some damage.> she tells herself as she looks at the satellite.
Or what’s left of it: the amount of heat that her internal struggle gave off was enough to completely melt Io, leaving only an enormous and amorphous ball of magma.
<Ready?> Torn asks her; he’s in orbit, but his body is protected by an aura of Blood energy.
He’s standing next to a pentagram of fire.
<Not even close. But it’s not like we have a choice.> she acknowledges.
As she walks through the portal, the pentagram becomes blindingly bright.
<Let’s show Ares what we’re made of.>
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