No Man's Land

"It's a Succubbus! Get down!" Shouted a Remnant Soldier as he fired at the shifting figure up ahead.

Jem pulled a Remnant away from the sandbag to prevent him from being hit by a fledgling lust Demon. He reacted quickly, aiming his handgun with his left hand and firing at the assailant in a pointblank range. Half of its face immediately disappeared from the blast.

"Do not let it near you." Jem warned, giving the Remnant a direct stare in his eyes beyond the polarized visor of his helmet. He could feel the fear within the Remnant Soldier but he ignores it as he pulled the young soldier back up. "They will give you a hickey."

"What the Hell is a hickey, sir?!" The Remnant asked as he shifted his focus back at the battle unfolding in front of him.

Jem was about to answer but he cocked his head sideways, asking Blackshot for a question.

"It's a wound you get when somebody sucked your skin so much that the blood vessels underneath will literally burst." He replied as he fired a couple of shots. He sensed Jem looking at him accusingly. "Don't look at me like that, brother!" He added.

The three held their ground long enough than expected. Higher Mark Protectorates and Remnants alike can be seen being killed off by the moving figures that were too fast enough to look at. Disemboweled Remnants and headless Protectorates littered the ground with their blood covering the dusty grounds of the battlefield.

"Blackshot, we have no choice but to charge forward and plant that beacon in the middle of the field!" Jem yelled at him which earned a protesting look from Blackshot.

"You do realize that this is a freaking nuclear weapon, brother?! If I plant this in the middle of the killzone, it will level the entire city!"

"But WE have no choice. It's either do or die!" Jem had stepped towards Blackshot in a threatening manner.

"Fine, but you will have a hard time explaining to the Archangel Michael about this." Blackshot finally agreed. He made a gesture that was detected by the motion sensor of his suit, prompting a detractable headgear to envelope his entire head. He turned about and retrieved the beacon from the ground; a huge rectangular white box that has a little LED screen in the middle where a few numbers was displayed. Five buttons can be seen below the screen. He pressed a few numbers; receiving a few sharp beeps in reply. He slid the rifle to his back and switched to his pistol; a black sleek handgun.

"Get to the safe zone." He said, voice digitalized by the sound filter of his headgear. "Bring the kid with you."

"Affirmative." Jem says in reply as he motioned for the Remnant Soldier to follow.

Blackshot lifted the beacon with his free hand. He jogged out of the sandbags and moved across the cracked pavement of the highway. He raised his handgun and fired at a Demon that has materializes itself. It was a purple skinned entity with six horns with a slender body. Six tentacles can be seen behind its back, and six breasts covered its chest entirely. It wore black straps as its outfit and its hands were fitted with a sharp blade. Sharp fangs peeked out of its red lips and yellow pupil-less eyes stared directly at the Protectorate in a seducing manner.

"Get lost, you ugly filth!" Blackshot yelled as he fired at its face; half its head disappearing in a plume of dark crimson gore.

He continued his jog and within a few minutes, it broke into a run, then to a sprint. He fired at any obstructing Demons that might prevent him from reaching his objective. The others, however, had completely ignored him as they flood through the streets, towards the last domed refuge area behind him. He hopes that the people inside there had evacuated already or else they will be caught up in a six mile blast radius and that will be the end of them. He finally reached the center of the no-man's land where he witnessed numerous Lust Demons approaching. Lightning streaks across the darkened skies. He set the beacon down and began pushing buttons.

"Nuclear Detonation Beacon activated. You have five minutes to kiss your sweet mama goodbye. Have a nice day." A monotonous female voice inside the beacon said followed by a couple of beeps.

"Huh, clever." Blackshot muttered as he turned and began to sprint. He haven't got far away enough from the beacon when a Demon has sent a kick at his faceplate that made him stumble backwards.

Standing up, he raised both his fists to fight his attacker. The Demon in front of him let out a laugh as it sent a tentacle straight at the Protectorate. Blackshot swings his right hand backward, invoking his detractable arm blade to stretch itself with a loud clang! He sliced the tentacle in half before it even reached him. The Demon launched another tentacle, followed by another and another. The Protectorate responded by slicing the tentacles that were reaching towards him. The Demon made a leap forward, swinging its bladed arms at Blackshot, who rolled to the left. He swept the Demon off balance and quickly trained his handgun at the fallen entity.

"Oh, do you have any guts to shoot me?" The Demon asked, its voice was seducing.

"Watch." Blackshot replied as he cocked the safety off. "Say goodbye---no." The Protectorate stared in disbelief as the Demon's face changed.

Slowly, it takes the appearance of a girl; someone who was very familiar to him. She slowly stood up, holding Blackshot's gun and throwing to the side, out of reach. The Protectorate stood frozen, he cannot move, he cannot react. It was all too real to be a delusion.

"You're already dead! How come you are alive? Well unless you've become a Demon which is quite impossible!" Blackshot yelled.

"THREE MINUTES REMAINING."

"Is that so?" The Demon asked. "I am pretty sure you have fought the Synth Demon Legionnaires before." It says, confusing the Protectorate even more.

"No, they are special case." He said, taking a step backwards. "This is not happening. I can't believe this is even happening!"

"Well you better believe." It says as it places a hand on the Protectorate's right shoulder. "Let me give you a...hickey so that you will finally believe."

Staring at her, Blackshot let out a grin. He already know that the Demon was lying. He was relieved that his dead friend wasn't the Demon he was facing now. He cocks his head backwards and launched it at the forehead of the enemy.

"It is written that Man shall not live on bread alone!" He yelled as he balled his left hand into a fist and launched it at the face of the Demon. "It is written that you worship the Lord your God and serve Him only!" His eyes suddenly glowed in yellow. A huge yellow transparent fire surrounds him in an instant, empowering the Protectorate even more. "And it is said that you do not put the Lord your God to the test!"

"But you are no God!" The Demon replied in a frightened tone.

"No, I am not," Blackshot replied. "But the presence of the Lord Jesus Christ is within me. Now begone you vile beast!" He yelled as he put his hands together and smashed it at the skull of the Demon. "GOD SMITE!" In an instant, the Demon was pulverized into a dark crimson powder.

Blackshot's glow disappeared. His strength returned back to normal but he was weakened so greatly that he could even barely stand.

"ONE MINUTE REMAINING."

"Ah shoot." Blackshot let out as he began sprinting again. He considered transforming to his Angelic Form but he had used his Divine Strength earlier, draining him. He sprinted while muttering a prayer.

"As I walk through the valley of the shadow of death," He whispered as he vaulted over a lone sandbag that had been thrown on the ground. "I will fear no evil for you are with me." He released a deep breath as he continued running. "Your rod and your staff, they comfort me..."

"Blackshot!" A voice yelled from above.

The Protectorate glanced to the right where he saw an Apache Helicopter swerving to meet him. He could see Jem inside and the Remnant Soldier who had been with them earlier. "Get in!" He yelled.

Blackshot moved towards them. Summoning all the strength he have, he made a high jump. He managed to get a good grip at the metal flooring of the Attack Helicopter but he was slipping down to fall. Jem caught him just in time before he falls to the ground.

"Gotcha." He says as he pulled Blackshot inside. "Congratulations kid, you've just been classified as a nuclear threat."

"Yeah I know," Blackshot replied. "I can't believe I just pulled it off a la Noble Six."

As the Helicopter raced from the blast zone, the city down below was blasted by a very powerful explosion. The Apache was soon joined by Transport Carrier Helicopters that contains the refugees from the domed area.