The firing did not stop.
Not even for once.
Inside the protective shield manifested by Elmitrios, defending them from Juvo's fury, the IMG and the others barely made it out of the ship. They could feel the thumping of the shots in their chests, as they collided with the shield; a place that used to thump once upon a time.
Surrounding them in every direction, craters formed, bursting like monstrous firecrackers, engulfing the firmament in molten rock and ash, raining down in bits and pieces, spewing wreckage and destruction on the once peaceful purple soil.
They choked on their breath. It pained in their heads. An uncomfortable static buzzed inside their minds, non-existent in reality, yet present all the same.
It was incomprehensible how Juvo had not stopped for once. How continually he had kept at them shooting, in a hope they could not rationalise. Yet it lay in plain sight. It was simple enough. Had enough of the shots made through, Elmitrios' shield wouldn't be holding up. Once it was down, it would have taken him hardly any time to acquire what he was hunting them for. The Book of Gods. The one which was rightly opened. The one, which had all the mantras at his disposal.
"How are we going to do anything if he keeps shooting at us like this?" Radhika shouted to be heard owing to the noisy background.
Just then, the attacks stopped.
They turned around, and looked up with scrunched faces. To everyone's amazement, there seemed to be a larger version of a shield in act around a huge area around the monastery.
"Did you-" Radhika began, but the surprised look on Elmitrios' face told her he had nothing to do with it. It's source lay somewhere else.
"Get inside the building! I'm not sure how longer I'll be able to hold him."
That voice.
"Saaret?!" Radhika shrieked.
"There he is!" Sierra pointed towards athe south-west direction.
Far in the distance, above a tree, he was hovering, his hands outstretched towards the heavens, a struggle evident on his face as he groaned to keep the shield up against the attacks.
"Let's make wise use of the time he's given us," Sanduo said to everybody. "Let's go."
Elmitrios concurred withdrawing his shield.
They made a run for the monastery.
__________
"We've been instructed to hand you these weapons. They were made upon short notice but will deliver what they are meant to." One of the chefs showed the weapons, which were kept on the dining table.
The chefs were used to making meals out of their purple soil so creating weapons had been a challenge. But by the looks of them, they certainly could pass for their actual selves in their 'verse.
And each weapon was familiar.
For they were the same. The same ones they had aboard the Interstellar Traveller; the same they were planning to use against the Gods.
"H-how did you-" Jayden murmured in disbelief.
"Saaret knows his stuff," the same chef said with pride.
Elmitrios smiled. "Looks like we are prepared for a battle. I'll tell you what to do. Here," he shuffled his hand into his coat and brought the Book of Gods out. "You take this. The rest shall follow. I'll take care of Juvo."
Jayden took the book in his hands. "You sure?"
"I am. Just focus on what's to come. Your skills will matter the most in the next few moments, than ever again."
YOU ARE READING
THE MULTIVERSAL CRIMINAL
Science FictionA girl with secrets. Secrets on which the very fabric of space and time are threatened of their existence. "What she did was a crime"- is what they'd all say. But was what she did, really what she is being accused of? Is she really a criminal; a Mul...
