What little measure of surprise they’d had was long since gone. Guards lined the halls in Angel’s path, raining fire from Magitech guns down on him. The Star Fragment’s energy crackled around him, absorbing any of the shots that got too close.

Angel reached a turn guarded by several clones. He threw his weight to the side, slamming into one of the men with his board. His momentum shattered the man’s red shield and drove him into the wall.

The board whined as it shot off along the wall for a few moments. Beams hurtled past his head and he tucked into a roll, righting himself above the floor before he could fall off. With all the guards chasing after him, all he could do was hope that Silver and the girls would have a clear shot at getting the prisoners out of the Buried God.

He darted through the hallways, all to aware of the shrinking space he had to maneuver in. The wide halls were quickly growing too tight for the speed he was going, and remaining on the hoverboard much longer would end up being a detriment.

Angel fired a grappling hook at the wall just before a corner and leapt off the board, slinging it over his back as he swung in a tight loop around the hall, driving his feet into a guard that had been waiting for him on the other side.

The guard’s shield shattered and he tumbled across the ground, skidding to a stop against the far wall. Angel charged after him, dodging to the side to avoid a blast of energy and kneeing the clone in the face.

The man slumped and Angel grabbed his body, holding it in front of him like a shield as he continued his mad dash. His Star Fragment could only absorb so much energy, and he needed to save as much of that for the Buried God’s core as possible.

Angel’s eyepiece clicked down, highlighting a path for him. The Star Fragment’s doing, since he hadn’t even tried to activate it. He didn’t have time to wonder, so he followed its instructions.

He lost track of the guards that perished at his hands, but the number was somewhere in the dozens. By the time he reached the hallway that led up to where the power source was stored, both of his hands were soaked red with blood that wasn’t his.

A frown passed over Angel’s features. Instead of the door that the previous Buried God’s core had featured, this one was shaped like the entrance to a vault. There was a massive pinwheel on the front, and it didn’t take a genius to realize the metal door was probably several feet thick.

“Looks like they upgraded security,” Angel muttered as he ran up to the door and tugged on it. It was locked fast. He gritted his teeth, pulling on the wheel with all his strength. A low creak came out from the metal and steam puffed from the vent on the back of his arm as he slowly started to turn it.

Once it started to shift, movement came easier. Angel grunted, glancing over his shoulder as the opening mechanism slowly clattered along. A guard stepped out and he fired a blast of lightning into the man before he could raise his shield, killing him.

“Idiot,” Angel muttered. The door clicked open and he pulled back, slowly swinging it open to reveal the power source behind it.

The core floated between two pillars, suspended in a field of flickering red energy. The room was several times larger than the previous one had been as well. Before the core, a large man with tanned skin rested his arms on the shaft of a massive warhammer. He wore heavy metal armor that looked thick enough to block a tank cannon. A tower shield laid against his side.

“You must be Angel,” the man rumbled. “It’s a good thing Reave was so paranoid. I didn’t think there was any way you’d be foolish enough to run onto a Buried God of your own volition again.”

“You must be Shield, then,” Angel said. “Lilian said you were big and ugly, but she really understated the smell.”

The man chuckled. “I can see why you got under Reave’s nerves.”

Purple energy flared at Angel’s shoulder, catching an energy bolt before it could strike him. Angel slammed the thick vault door shut, blocking out their fire.

Shield raised his hammer, rearing back lazily before bringing it down in a lazy swing. Angel threw himself to the side, avoiding the attack without too much difficulty. The blow struck the ground and shattered the metal, sending fragments whistling through the air.

With a grunt, Shield pulled his weapon from the ground and turned to face Angel. He raised the huge hunk of metal in his other hand, blocking a bolt of lightning from Angel before stepping forward to swing once more.

Angel ducked and Shield obliterated a wall, his hammer tearing through the Buried God’s flesh like it wasn’t even there.

“You’re blowing up your own toy,” Angel yelled, hopping back to avoid another massive swing.

“It’ll be fine,” Shield grunted. He eyed Angel, but didn’t swing the hammer again. “It looks like you might be a bit too slippery to catch as is. How tiresome.”

Angel shot him with another bolt of lightning – the last lightning spell he had loaded. Shield deflected it, not even flinching. If anything, he looked mildly annoyed. The large man closed his eyes and let out a slow breath.

Shield leapt. Angel threw himself to the side, but the large man wasn’t headed for him. He was aiming for the door. Shield ripped it open, then let out a loud roar. Green light flared in his eyes and he turned back to Angel, a grin stretching across his face.

The guard outside the door crumpled, a tiny whisp of green light flitting from his mouth and entering Shield. As he fell, the man’s body disintegrated, leaving nothing but his clothing and weapons behind.

A low rumble filled the Buried God. Angel took a step back. Energy swept through the air Behind shield like a green tsunami. It crashed into him, enveloping the man with light as he threw his head back and laughed.

Cracks filled the room as Shield started to grow. His heavy armor shattered, falling away from his body like a discarded skin. He grew several heads taller, and brilliant green light filled his eyes.

The Reawakening member tossed his shield to the side and shifted his grip of the warhammer into two hands. Angel’s arm crackled, but he didn’t need the warning. He threw himself to the side just moments before Shield lunged.

Metal shrieked as Shield’s hammer ripped through a huge swathe of the wall, crumpling it like aluminum. He’d grown several times faster and his power had magnified by more than Angel cared to even think about.

Shield spun the hammer and brought it down toward Angel, who dove through the hole Shield had just opened in the wall to avoid the attack. He rolled to his feet, his mind churning as he tried to figure out a way to handle the huge man.

A huge chunk of metal hurtled past Angel, forcing him to dive. Shield bent the wall out of the way and stepped out into the hall, dragging his hammer along the ground behind him.

“Die with some dignity,” Shield growled, leaping at the Seeker. Angel fired a blast of frost into the ground and darted around the corner, grabbing several canisters from his travel pack as he ran and slamming them into his arm.

The metal beside his head ruptured. Angel barely dodged in time to avoid the huge hammer as it emerged from the wall, embedding itself on the other side of the hall. Shield ripped through the Buried God’s flesh, walking straight at Angel and destroying anything in his path.

Angel’s arm hummed as a metal tube emerged from his palm and his relic hummed to life. A frost spell clicked into place and he settled on a plan – not his first choice, but the only one he could come up with.