Relics of the Apocalypse

The pried-up metal wiggled above the car and made creaking noises. The hole in the roof and the broken window made the inside of the car brighter and colder than usual. But the broken vehicle need not remind them of where they had just come from.

Spawns have reached the suburbs. A war broke in the streets as the residents of the tightly packed residential area, struggled to fend off what was only the spillovers from the invasion of the city proper and most probably just the initial wave. If the army didn't come soon, the demons might take the suburbs and the rural areas as well.

He got chills just trying to imagine the aftermath. Hundreds must be already dead. This would be the worst tragedy for the country since the wars.

The tires screeched as Pierre was forced to step on the brakes. In the middle of the road, a young man wildly swung his bat around against a trio of snapping spawns. A terrified old woman was being shielded behind his back, helplessly watching it all unfold.

"Hey, isn't that Green?" said Clementine, leaning closer to the windshield and narrowing her eyes to get a clearer look.

Pierre did not need a clearer look. The blond hair in a messy quiff, was enough of an indication. He stared at Clementine who only silently returned his stare to him. It seemed to Pierre that she was letting him decide. To get out and help was the good thing to do but after the things they'd seen, it wouldn't be the wisest.

He looked out through the windows. This part of the street was already sprawling with spawns but unlike in the city, there weren't that many of the winged demons around. He already learned that he could easily dispatch spawns even when outnumbered.

Robert Green was his student, and it would be immoral to watch an old, helpless woman die. But those were not the only reasons why he decided to help. In such perilous times, the brute would have a use other than being a gladiator on the baseball field.

"I'll make this quick." Pierre got out of the car, without turning off the engine.

Right outside the door, he was immediately met with an angry band of spawns. The coin was quickly summoned into his fingers. Half of him wanted to immediately return to the relative safety of the car and drive off. Half of him, knowing what he was capable of, dared to hold his ground. The latter prevailed.

With a speed he thought he wasn't capable of, he made successive, close-quarter strikes. As it turned out, the closer the target, the greater the damage and the faster the coin reappeared in his hands. The band of about six spawns was pummeled one-sidedly, like a pack of feral hogs gunned down by a machine gun.

[You have killed Spawn]

[You have killed Spawn]

[You have killed Spawn]

[You have killed Spawn]

[You have killed Spawn]

[You have killed Spawn]

[You have gained Experience]

"Pierre, he is wounded!" worriedly yelled Clementine.

He quickly turned his attention to Robert. The young man seemed already aware of their presence, and they might have been the distraction that caused the slash wound on his leg.

Pierre hastily strode towards the beleaguered young man. With newfound confidence, he struck the minions that had been giving the student trouble, with the same easy but deadly coin attacks.

"Professor Acre…" Robert for the first time, addressed him properly by the proper title and his last name. The student nervously swallowed and took a step back as Pierre advanced. "What did you just do and what is happening?"

"Just get in the car, Robert. You and your…?"

"Grandma." Robert snappily replied.

"Can you manage… with your leg?" Pierre stopped a distance away from Robert, sensing his reservation.

Robert nodded, pale on the lips. He touched his wound, and grimaced a little, before trying out a kick with his injured leg, "Yes… it's just a scratch… I think."

"Then hop on the car, quick!" Pierre impatiently barked. His eyes were not on Robert anymore but on the roof of a nearby house.

He had just watched a hole tear through thin air and let out four winged demons before closing. The idea that the demons could not only come from the giant hole above the city but could come from everywhere sent him to a higher level of despair.

[Divine Revelation:

The demons entered your world by creating tears and wounds, on the barrier that separated it from hell's dominions. What you just witnessed, was a tear, a smaller hole that could only open for a while before the barrier heals itself. What you witnessed above your city, was a wound, a bigger hole that could remain open for a long time, or never close at all without intervention.]

[Divine Revelation:

Take note that the bigger the population, the higher the chance of tears and wounds appearing. Inversely, a sparsely populated area, has a lesser chance of tears and wounds, appearing.]

It was quite a revelation. Pierre's thoughts wandered to the darkest alleys thinking of the implications of what he had just learned. His parents currently live in the densest population center in the whole country, in the capital city of Thornston.

A scream ripped through the air. Not in the direction of where the hole had opened, but from the car, and a familiar voice.

Robert who had walked nearer to the car, was spitting out taunts, as he bravely held his baseball to the side of his head. His grandma stood still and speechless at his side.

A winged demon that had come either from a tear that opened in the area or one belonging to the horde that poured on the city, had flown down near the car by the driver's seat.

[Divine Revelation:

You have encountered a Minion. They are stronger than the spawns but still are quite weak against the rest of the horde. They are used as scouts or as shock troops. They have wings so watch the skies!]