Chapter Six


    Ambrose prepared to head to Eric’s town. First, he saw Kellan off. The teleportation array had been set up in a large building they called the ‘Arrival Hub ’ for now. The inside looked much like an airport checkpoint might have looked before the System. Cordoned off sections, with a few Knights guarding the area and facilitating processing.


    Dannill was there as well. The ranger was quickly becoming the head of Avalon’s security. Ambrose insisted on everyone contributing something. If they didn’t have a business helping the economy, they had a job of some kind. Dannill, for as hard as he worked trying to be lazy, was adept at spotting possible security issues. His high analyze skill allowed him to identify most everyone and everything, too.


    He stood there in his mottled cloak, scratching his beard, his face looking somewhere between profoundly bored and utterly tired. A bow was slung over his back, and wisps of yellow light trailed from the runes emblazoned on it.


    Despite his expression, Ambrose didn’t miss the way the ranger’s eyes tracked Kellan, nor the way his stance was even, ready to spring into action. The array itself was a black obelisk, glowing with amethyst light from the runes lining its surface.


    The runes brightened as Akenyemi touched its surface, vanishing back to his own array. Ambrose turned to Dannill.


    “I’m off to Eric’s town. What did you all call it, anyway?”


    Dannill grunted,


    “New Miami. Rudy’s probably in charge with Eric gone.”


    That was fine with Ambrose, he would be okay with burning the whole place to the ground. He took a breath; most living there probably have no idea who their leaders really are,_ Ambrose said to himself. He would defend himself if he had to, but he wouldn’t wantonly slaughter people unless offered violence himself.


    He opened a portal to his house, waving at Dannill as he stepped through, closing it with an effort of will.


    His house was more accurately a large hunting cabin. He didn’t stay here much, but it had an attached garage for his hellcat. He could have used [Infernal Recall] but the car would have blazed over the town, and Ambrose had no desire to accidentally hurt anyone.


    The one problem with his portals is that he needed to know the area first. Which meant he needed to be there at least once. Ambrose had never been to Eric’s town, so while he could portal to the general area, he couldn’t go directly there.


    Besides, he liked the drive. He could coast, and just disconnect from everything. Here, he could allow it all to fall away. Just him, the car, and the path ahead. It was a simple pleasure and not many of those existed anymore.


    He got in, activating [Hellfire Manipulation] transforming the car. One of the kids had purchased a set of comics from the System store, something Ambrose hadn’t even known was possible, and in it there was a man a lot like Ambrose.


    He transformed his bike into this demonic machine, with horns, and bone and fire. His hellcat underwent similar changes, except the metal became the darkness out of nightmares, and the fire that surrounded it, wreathing the wheels and the hood, were the same shade that he formed his axe out of. Blazing red, and eldritch green.The author''s content has been appropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon.


    It wasn’t just appearance, either. Ambrose pressed the gas, roaring out of the garage. His car sounded every inch a living thing, a big cat on the prowl. The vehicle could have been Noelle’s kin.


    She sent him an indignant jab with her thoughts. Ambrose chuckled to himself as he turned the wheel, driving over the ocean as if it were solid road, flames trailing behind him. A few sea monsters tried to rise up to kill him, but Ambrose’s [Infernal Sanctuary] combined with fireballs took care of the problem.


    In other cases, he just straight up ran the creatures over. As far as he could tell, he didn’t get any experience for it. A shame, but not unexpected.


    The world was a changed place. Alice used to play those post apocalyptic games, one where she was a courier shot in the head and after revenge. It wasn’t quite like that, but it was close enough. Buildings lay in ruins, chunks of road were missing. Everywhere he drove, it looked like a massive battle had taken place.


    At one point, maybe he would have thought about rebuilding. Maybe he would have considered bringing some semblance of humanity back. Tina Florence was working on that goal, expanding her people, protecting them, bringing society back to life.


    People like Eric just wanted a community to lord over. Kellan may have been slightly different, but the heart of it was still power, territory, for him. Following Dannill’s directions, it didn’t take long to find New Miami.


    The town, like many he had run across, had chosen to go with a wall as as the primary form of their defense. This one was far more advanced, with wards in the form of runes all over it. There was no towers, instead, battlements had been built with the wall, people walked along them.


    These didn’t appear to be noobs, either. They wielded bows, suggesting that they knew guns didn’t do a lot of good against anyone who’d made progress within the System. The gate did have guards outside of it, and they were looking at him.


    He would be too if he saw a car straight out of hell barreling towards them. They pointed, calling something out. Weapons trained on him as he pulled up, getting out.


    How many times am I going to find myself in front of guards at a gate? Ambrose bit his tongue to prevent the wry smile that threatened to curl his lips. The guards were armed to the nines. Blades at hips, bows across shoulders, dressed in forest green, and honey brown leathers.


    “Halt! Step any further and you’ll find yourself doubling as a pin cushion.”


    One of the guards, a blonde haired youth with bright blue eyes and round features. His partner, a black haired, brown eyed man with a rough beard grunted in response. Ambrose crossed his arms.


    “I’m here to look around Eric Delrosa’s office. Let me in.”


    The two exchanged looks.


    “The boss’s office? No way. Get lost.”


    He sighed, rubbing the bridge of his nose.


    “I’m trying to be nice here, so one more time. Let me in. Once I find what I need, I’ll be out of your hair. Don’t let me in, and I’ll play hardball.”


    They both laughed at that, the blonde raising his hands,


    “Oooh! You hear that Dave?”


    He hooked a thumb in Ambrose’s direction,


    “We got a badass over here. Better roll out the red carpet.”


    The guards chuckled, shaking their heads.


    “Fuck off, Mad Max. We aren’t lettin’ you in, hear me?”


    Ambrose nodded.


    “I did try.”


    He unleashed his hold on his spirit.


    Like the fist of Almighty God himself, his spirit crushed the two before him to the ground. Plus every single person on the wall, and likely many beyond. They couldn’t even groan, they were so weak that they offered not even an ounce of resistance.


    “I told you, I was trying to be nice,” Ambrose muttered.


    It was time to find out just where Eric had gone off too.