Chapter 129

A Dream Come True 9

-:-

“What the hell is that?!” roared Dorothy through the coms

Dorothy was currently on top of Vivi’s car wielding a shock staff. Quite simply it was a super charged cow prodder encased in a highly durable shaft.

A perfect weapon for those who wanted to cause as much pain as possible without killing the enemy.

Though such a weapon might not work against the tank sized lion-like beast that was chasing them.

“Vivi. You’re the resident mage here. Give us any info about that thing.” said Theo as he followed the lion’s wake.

“I-it’s a fusion based metamorphosis spell. Given how carelessly they casted it inside a car, the core shouldn't have been buried inside the body. Damage the core enough and the spell will come apart” replied Vivi who was clearly trying to sound brave.

“What does this core look like?”asked Dorothy

“It’s normally a bunch of glowing, pulsing veins”

“I dont see it from here! Theo, what about you?!”

Theo accessed his spy drones and easily found the core on the back of the lion.

However, he could not just say that and not raise any eyebrows.

As such, Theo decided to let the others spot it for him.

“Cant spot it from my end. I’m going to try and trip the bastard and see if its in its belly.” said Theo

“What are you planning Theo?” asked Dorothy

“Watch and learn”

He slammed the accelerator and positioned the SUV just beside one of lion’s hind legs.

He violently turned the wheel to the side and performed what the law enforcement called as the PIT Maneuver. It was normally used by the police in high speed car chases to force the criminals into a tailspin.

In this case, Theo slammed the SUV into the hind legs while the lion was in mid gallop.

The lion tumbled to its side but was quick to recover.

However, the tumble was enough for Dorothy to spot the core.

“It’s on its back! Right between the shoulder blades!”

“Roger that. Looks like I have the agro here. The core is all yours my waifu.” said Theo as he stepped on the accelerator to dodge a swipe from the lion.

“DON'T CALL ME THAT!”

“Whatever you say dear.”

“SHUT UP!”

Theo peppered the lion with Uzi bullets as he maneuvered the SUV to remain just out of its reach.

As a magical beast, the lion had phenomenal amounts muscle that served as armor. And this was on top of its regeneration.

The Uzi was practically a peashooter against it.

Nevertheless, the bullets caused enough discomfort to piss off the lion.

With a roar that seemingly shook the earth, the lion lunged at Theo with the speed that belied its massive bulk.

In fact, it was so fast that Theo had to jump out of the SUV and grappling hooked himself as far as possible.

For not even have a second later, the SUV was flattened and a large section of the highway shattered from the titanic force applied unto it.

Theo skid and bounced on the ground before recovering his stance. He ran while continuously peppering the lion with bullets.

“Theo! Are you alright?!” said Dorothy through the coms

“Stop wasting time and take out the bastard already! I cant keep this up for long!” replied Theo as he maintained his run-n-gun tactic around the lion

Once again, the beast lunged at Theo with the force of an avalanche, smashing everything in its path.

Theo dodged it with the help of his grappling gun.

While this was happening, Dorothy an impressive feat of marksmanship by landing her grappling hook on the lion while it was in mid lunge.

Theo showered the lion with bullets to cover Dorothy as she zipped onto its back.

Wasting no time, Dorothy stabbed her shock staff onto what seemed to be the core and let loose the highest voltage her weapon could muster.

The lion roared in agony at the unexpected attack.

It jumped up and down like a wild bronco to throw Dorothy off, but the little girl used her grappling gun to anchor herself.

Out of desperation, the lion rolled on the ground in hopes it would squash Dorothy in the process.

Naturally, Dorothy jumped off before any of that could happen. Unfortunately, she had to leave her shock staff behind

“Damn it! The shock wasn't strong enough to damage the core enough!” said Dorothy as she ran from lion.

While her CQC skills were vastly superior to Theo’s, it was useless against such a beast.

“Next time you need a weapon that actually works, you head straight to me and not the third rate hack that made that crap!” said Theo as he observed the lion’s next moves.

“This is from my boss’ personal arsenal!” replied Dorothy without specifically naming Crow.

It seemed that she hasn't revealed to Vivi and Phoebe who she was

“What’s the difference?”

Theo and Dorothy continued their banter while trying to figure out how to take down the massive lion.

As for the beast itself, it finally stopped barrel rolling and recovered its stance.

The fire in its eyes blazed with murderous rage as it was trying to figure out which of Theo and Dorothy should it rip apart first.

The lion set its sights on Dorothy and was about to bulldozer its way to her before it suddenly stopped.

As if remembering something, the lion shifted its gaze towards the car where Vivi, Phoebe and Jennifer were hiding.

It remained motionless for a second before unleashing the loudest roar Theo has ever had the pleasure of suffering under.

It was excessively loud and lasted a little longer than it should.

However, Theo noticed that it there were very clear shifts in decibel and pitch.

The lion kept it up for 10 seconds before it ran out of breath and began panting.

“Vivi! Drive into the Hellhole District now! Crash into a building if you have to! Just head there, ditch the car and hide among the buildings! Quick!” said Theo as he open fired at the lion while running for the alleyways outside of the highway.

“H-huh? What? I don't understand” asked the confused Vivi

“That roar was a signal! I don't know what it meant but it sure hell has something to do with finding Jennifer!” said Dorothy who was also privy to what was happening. “Do as Theo said and head for the Hellhole district ASAP!”

“But what about you 2? We can't just leave you!” said Phoebe

“Remember the mission! We win if we get Jennifer to the Ecclesiarchy complex! Nothing else matters! Now GO!” replied Dorothy authoritatively.

“Damn it! You guys better make it out of this in one piece!” said Vivi as the car drove off at top speed

“Bitch please. I haven't knocked up Dorothy yet. No way I’ll die before that! Mwhahaha!” replied Theo

“How can you joke around at at time like this?!” roared Dorothy in response

“This is my coping mechanism. Deal with it! Mwhahaha!”

Dorothy followed Theo’s lead and left the highway for the buildings.

From here, the 2 used their grappling guns to traverse from building to building. At the same time, they did what they could to distract the lion by shooting or throwing anything solid enough at it.

The lion powered through all the harassment and went after Vivi’s group.

However, it pace was hampered by the occasional big sharp object stabbing into its weak spot.

It’s regeneration could overwhelm most of what the 2 could do unto its weak spot, but it didn't stop the pain from being painful.

While the 2 continued their harassing campaign, Dorothy turned off her coms and approached Theo.

“I know your left arm is extremely powerful. Probably powerful enough to take out the lion’s weak spot in one shot.” said Dorothy in a serious manner.

“Given how pissy it gets when we planted a flag pole on its back, yeah. One shot from my left hand will be strong enough to kill it” replied Theo

“Then do it already!”

“Out in the open? With who knows how many witnesses in the audience? Not a chance.”

“We’re in an emergency here!”

“Then use those explosive shurikens of yours. I think those also have enough force to destroy the core as well.”

Dorothy cringed at Theo’s words.

Explosive shurikens were a staple of the Crow trio’s arsenal. Using it out in the open would almost certainly reveal Dorothy’s identity.

Before Theo could berate Dorothy on her hypocrisy, hundreds of pillars of blood shot into the heavens from multiple locations from city.

The clear blue skies and the heat of the midday sun was like a beautiful work of art that was desecrated by pouring large amounts of red paint unto it.

The heavens darkened into a blood red hue.

The smell of blood dominated the air.

And a massive demonic sigil appeared over the entire city.

From the pillars of blood spawned countless beasts of varying size and shape.

While it was impossible to find a common feature amongst the hordes of abominations, there was only 1 word that could easily define them.

Demons.

And in the cookie cutter world ending event that the city experienced almost once every 6 months, everything went to hell.

Screams, explosion, gunfire and chaos erupted as the outsiders stormed into the cracks in reality and began destroying everything in sight.

Naturally, the ever vigilant guardians of Vermilion sprang forth to defend their city.

The Superheroes went off doing their superhero thing.

The armed forces of the city fought like the courageous soldiers that they were.

Even the criminal scums slaughtered those who dare stand in their way.

Casualties were expected, but such was life in Vermilion City.

“Theo! Dorothy! Can you read me?!” said Vivi through the coms.

“Loud and clear. What the hell is this?” asked Dorothy

“It’s a Hellgate! A portal that summons demons from a realm called Hell!”

“No shit sherlock. How do you stop it?”

“Spells of this magnitude often has someone that acts as a beacon to which the spell revolves around on. This beacon is the anchor the demon needs to maintain their existence in this plane of existence. At least until they steal enough soulstones from the native lifeforms to anchor themselves into this realm. Take out the beacon and the demons will simply fade from this world.”

“And how long does it normally take for a demon to become a permanent resident of our reality?” asked Theo

“Too long. Why do you think cults have a thing for human sacrifices?” replied Vivi

“And how are we suppose to find this ‘anchor’?” asked Dorothy

“I-I dont know….” said Vivi

“Hahahaha. That’s actually very easy.” said Theo, much to everyone’s surprise.

“This is no time for jokes Theo! The city is in danger for god's sakes!” replied the frustrated Dorothy.

“Sorry to disappoint you, but I’m not joking. I already know how to lure out our little beacon” said Theo in a cold and distant manner that he has never showed to his friends before.

“W-what do you mean? Do you have a plan?” asked Vivi

“Of course I do. We already know who these godless filth want for their stupid ritual.” said Theo, causing everyone to collectively gasp in realization. “The beacon will most certainly come for Jennifer Veila. That is our window of opportunity.”

“I see…. That sounds like a plausible plan. But we’re not going to get anything done with this monster in our ass” said Dorothy

Before anyone could speak, Theo used his grappling gun and zipped himself to the flag pole that was currently stabbed on the lion’s back.

With the entire city going to hell, no eyes would be on Theo.

He used one Archon Battery charge and bashed the lion’s weak spot with all of his might.

The lion was flattened into the shattered highway and exploded into a shower of blood.

Just to be clear, Theo’s punch was not strong enough to warrant such a bloody finish.

This was the effect of the destruction of the lion’s core.

Dorothy was slack jawed by the sudden disappearance of the beast that caused them so much headache.

And like a badass, Theo struck a confident pose as he walked through the pool of blood.

“Problem solved.”